LONDON – Do you want to buy Princess Diana's iconic "revenge dress?"
The black silk Christina Stambolian creation instantly became one of the world's most famous dresses when Diana stepped out of a car wearing it in June 1994, just as her ex Prince Charles admitted to having an affair with Camilla Parker-Bowles during a national television interview.
The figure-hugging gown, complete with flowing side-swept train, was so much more than a fashion choice for a Vanity Fair dinner in London. It was a statement amid scandal.
The off-the-shoulder design finished above the knee, breaking with traditional expectations of how a royal woman should dress. By wearing it, the princess was signaling a clear message: she was breaking free from the confines of the monarchy
and royal protocol and she wanted to look like a million dollars while doing so.
More than three decades on from its first outing, the daring dress is set to be auctioned at Sotheby's in New Yorkon Dec. 9. Before arriving in the U.S., the dress will tour Sotheby's locations in London, Hong Kong and Geneva. It is expected to sell for between $150,000 and $300,000.
"Fashion can be a language when words fail or are simply not enough. Princess Diana understood that instinctively," said Morgane Halimi, Sotheby’s Global Head of Handbags and Fashion.
"She walked into a moment in which so much of her story was being told for her and, through what she chose to wear, reclaimed the narrative for herself," Halimi said.
What happened to Princess Diana's revenge dress?
Three years after she turned heads wearing it, the princess sold the revenge dress in 1997, just two months before she died in a car crash in Paris. In the weeks before her death, the late princess sold 79 of her dresses at auction to raise funds to benefit cancer and AIDS charities.
The dress was purchased by a couple, who were never named.
The current owner of the dress told Sotheby's why it feels right to sell it now.
“My late husband and I knew that this dress was something special. Princess Diana was walking into the worst night of her life and you would never know it to look at her," the unnamed consignor said. "Bidding at auction and winning it was one of the great days of our life together. With him gone, that chapter has closed, and so should this one.
The private collector expressed hope that the gown's new owner will "enjoy" owning it "as much as we did.”
Part of the proceeds from the sale will be donated to Britain's NHS Lothian Charity on behalf of the Royal Edinburgh Hospital.
What happened to the revenge dress car?
It's not just the dress from that evening that's generated interest from an auction house. In June, that vehicle that Diana stepped out of as she rocked the revenge dress in London – the Jaguar XJ40, a former royal fleet vehicle – sold for £66,250 (about $88,386), more than 16 times its value.
“Yes, that Princess, in THAT dress, in this car. This is the personal limousine of arguably the world's most famous, iconic and inspirational woman," read the listing, which noted that the princess was transported in the vehicle on numerous occasions during the early to mid '90s
The "revenge dress" will be displayed in Diana's home country during London Fashion Week, from Sep. 18 to Sep 24.
The gown returns to the spotlight just as Princess Diana's brother, Earl Spencer, gears up to publish the "truth" about who his sibling really was in new book titled "Swan Song: Diana, My Sister" which will be released in the U.K. later this month.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Princess Diana's legendary revenge dress set to be auctioned
