'I designed Princess Diana's wedding dress - one problem nearly ruined it all'
Royal wedding dress designer Elizabeth Emanuel tells the story of the gown that defined a fashion era – as she and her former husband David give the behind-the-scenes scoop in a revealing new documentary
With its voluminous ivory silk taffeta skirt, puffy sleeves and 25ft train, it was the dress that defined an era.
But as Princess Diana climbed out of her horse-drawn glass coach at St Paul's Cathedral for her wedding to Prince Charles on July 29, 1981, its designers, Elizabeth Emanuel and her now ex-husband David, looked on in horror.
'It was a big dress because it needed to be seen in the cathedral,' Elizabeth recalls. 'Diana had the height to carry it off but she lost a lot of weight and we had to leave it until the last moment to make the final dress.
'Each bodice we made was too big, and we had to start again. She went to a tiny 23in waist.'
Nobody knew about Diana's eating disorder at the time and Elizabeth explains: 'All brides lose weight, so we didn't think anything of it.'
But there was a hitch – the huge train had to be folded up to fit in the wedding carriage, which meant that when the bride emerged, watched by a global TV audience of 750 million viewers, her gown was creased.
David, 72, recalls: 'Diana's father Lord Spencer was quite a large gentleman. He got into the carriage first and we thought, 'Oh Lord, there's not much room for Diana.' We had to roll up the train and stuff it in.'
As Diana walked up the steps with her bridesmaids, Elizabeth says: 'We knew it wasn't going to stay creased but it was still horrible. I thought, 'Oh my God, my career is finished.''
It was far from it, of course.
A new documentary, Secrets of Diana's Wedding Dress, reveals the commission was the making of Elizabeth and David.
Digging into their archives of drawings, unseen personal photographs, original fabrics and amazing stories, the former couple reveal their close relationship with Diana.
'The moment we got that call from Diana asking, 'Would you do me the honour of making my wedding dress?', life changed for us for ever,' says Elizabeth.
'The only downside is no matter what I do, I'm still known primarily for that.' After Buckingham Palace announced the Emanuels were to make Diana's dress, TV cameras besieged their Mayfair studio where seamstresses were busily sewing 10,000 pearls to the dress and thousands of tiny sequins to the train of tulle and lace chiffon veil.
Over-zealous reporters even went through the studio bins. 'We deliberately chucked a bit of pink fabric to put them off the scent,' David chuckles.
Elizabeth, 71, and David split in 1990.
She says: 'That's all the past now. No matter our differences he played a very important part in the wedding. We have separate lives but we share our children and we have a grandson.'
Still sporting her 1980s hairdo – as recognisable as Di's wedding dress – she adds: 'I do get spotted, usually when I least want to. But it's quite handy in a cafe – I get my coffee quicker.'
Every inch of space in Elizabeth's tiny Maida Vale basement studio in West London is stuffed with boxes overflowing with snippets of material, braids and other treasures, which celebrities including Courtney Love borrow for red carpet events.
Everything is labelled with her beautiful 18th century scroll writing – a century that inspires her. She says: 'I like to be historically authentic.
'I even found the same fabric that Mary Antoinette used for her shepherdess dresses. I'm a hoarder.'
Elizabeth's memory boxes have become part of British history. Still a very active designer, she shows the costumes she made for Madonna's Madame X tour in 2019, zipping between the racks of gowns, pulling them out one by one to tell their story.
'These have all been worn on the red carpet – this one was worn by Queen drummer Roger's wife Sarina Taylor for the Baftas and Golden Globes. This one by Queen Mary costume designer Alexandra Byrne, who was up for the Oscar.'
Elizabeth's rock chick dresses look like they should be in an Adam and The Ants music video – with sharp military jackets and cartridge pleats over bodices and billowing tulle.
She says: 'I do like an 18th century corset – it's very flattering. I did a version of that corset for director Martha Fiennes' wedding dress.'
Elizabeth, from Hampstead, North West London, also does elegant and simple glamour. She tells the 5 documentary: 'This silver one was for Courtney Love. And we have done a lot for Rita Ora.'
Many of the dresses look cream but when you get close up you can see the range of soft tones of her clothes. She explains: 'I tint them using things like avocado stones and tea bags.'
She shows me some of dresses in her 'raggy style', made from bits of leftover embroidered fabric.
The documentary reveals the extraordinary luck that brought the Emanuels and Diana together.
Elizabeth says: 'We had been asked by Vogue to send them a pink blouse for a shoot – we didn't know it was with Diana. She liked it and asked who designed it.'
When Diana turned up at the pair's studio to meet them, there was an instant bond. Elizabeth recalls: ''Diana was just 19 and we were just out of college, so we got on very well. She loved trying everything on. She was shy but had a great sense of humour.'
The transformation of Diana happened when the Emanuels made her a daring, sexy black taffeta dress which sparked a media frenzy.
'The black dress became iconic because it turned her from a Sloane Ranger into a superstar, when she climbed out of the limousine in her first official outing with Prince Charles and she leaned forward. It turned Diana into a fashion icon.'
In the documentary, Elizabeth also pays tribute to her father, the supermarket tycoon Buddy Weiner, who backed the struggling fashion graduates and set them up in business.
She says: 'When we got the commission for the dress, the first person I wanted to tell was my dad. He was in intensive care with heart issues but I knew he would want to hear about it.
'The first thing he said was, 'Don't forget to charge VAT.' Typical dad!'
Her father suggested the Emanuels bill a token sum of 1,000 guineas for the dress – £300,000 in today's money.
Other revelations from the documentary include the stern looks Elizabeth got from the Queen Mother when sewing Diana into her wedding dress at Clarence House. 'We were making too much noise,' admits Elizabeth.
'At one point David even had to go underneath Diana's gown. When he emerged, Diana asked, 'David – have you ever met the Queen Mother?'' The Emanuels made Diana a global style icon as she embarked on a series of world tours with Prince Charles.
Then things went quiet. 'There was a period of a year when we hadn't seen her and I was sick with worry thinking, 'Have we upset her'?' admits Elizabeth. 'I became ill with worry and the press started to say, 'Oh, they're out of favour.'
She continues: 'So my dad wrote to her private secretary and I got a phone call out of the blue from Diana asking to dress her for the Gulf tour in 1986.
'She did so much for all the British fashion industry – not just us.'
Reflecting on Diana's death aged 37, on August 31, 1997, in a car crash in Paris, Elizabeth says: 'It's so sad and almost unbelievable that somebody like that could just be wiped out so quickly. I remember being at her funeral with David. The music was soaring. It was just unbelievable.
'Then laying flowers at Kensington Palace. I've never seen so many flowers. Everyone was crying. We were so lucky to have shared that time in her life.'
While there have been many royal weddings since then, none will ever be as magical as Charles and Diana's.
Of Meghan's dress, she says: 'I can see why she chose it – it made a statement because it was so plain. Kate's was very elegant. She wore it beautifully.
'But at the end of the day, the wedding dress that everybody remembers is always Diana's.'
• Secrets of Diana's Wedding Dress, Saturday June 28, 9pm. Watch | Stream on 5.
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Royal wedding dress designer Elizabeth Emanuel tells the story of the gown that defined a fashion era – as she and her former husband David give the behind-the-scenes scoop in a revealing new documentary With its voluminous ivory silk taffeta skirt, puffy sleeves and 25ft train, it was the dress that defined an era. But as Princess Diana climbed out of her horse-drawn glass coach at St Paul's Cathedral for her wedding to Prince Charles on July 29, 1981, its designers, Elizabeth Emanuel and her now ex-husband David, looked on in horror. 'It was a big dress because it needed to be seen in the cathedral,' Elizabeth recalls. 'Diana had the height to carry it off but she lost a lot of weight and we had to leave it until the last moment to make the final dress. 'Each bodice we made was too big, and we had to start again. She went to a tiny 23in waist.' Nobody knew about Diana's eating disorder at the time and Elizabeth explains: 'All brides lose weight, so we didn't think anything of it.' But there was a hitch – the huge train had to be folded up to fit in the wedding carriage, which meant that when the bride emerged, watched by a global TV audience of 750 million viewers, her gown was creased. David, 72, recalls: 'Diana's father Lord Spencer was quite a large gentleman. He got into the carriage first and we thought, 'Oh Lord, there's not much room for Diana.' We had to roll up the train and stuff it in.' As Diana walked up the steps with her bridesmaids, Elizabeth says: 'We knew it wasn't going to stay creased but it was still horrible. I thought, 'Oh my God, my career is finished.'' It was far from it, of course. A new documentary, Secrets of Diana's Wedding Dress, reveals the commission was the making of Elizabeth and David. Digging into their archives of drawings, unseen personal photographs, original fabrics and amazing stories, the former couple reveal their close relationship with Diana. 'The moment we got that call from Diana asking, 'Would you do me the honour of making my wedding dress?', life changed for us for ever,' says Elizabeth. 'The only downside is no matter what I do, I'm still known primarily for that.' After Buckingham Palace announced the Emanuels were to make Diana's dress, TV cameras besieged their Mayfair studio where seamstresses were busily sewing 10,000 pearls to the dress and thousands of tiny sequins to the train of tulle and lace chiffon veil. Over-zealous reporters even went through the studio bins. 'We deliberately chucked a bit of pink fabric to put them off the scent,' David chuckles. Elizabeth, 71, and David split in 1990. She says: 'That's all the past now. No matter our differences he played a very important part in the wedding. We have separate lives but we share our children and we have a grandson.' Still sporting her 1980s hairdo – as recognisable as Di's wedding dress – she adds: 'I do get spotted, usually when I least want to. But it's quite handy in a cafe – I get my coffee quicker.' Every inch of space in Elizabeth's tiny Maida Vale basement studio in West London is stuffed with boxes overflowing with snippets of material, braids and other treasures, which celebrities including Courtney Love borrow for red carpet events. Everything is labelled with her beautiful 18th century scroll writing – a century that inspires her. She says: 'I like to be historically authentic. 'I even found the same fabric that Mary Antoinette used for her shepherdess dresses. I'm a hoarder.' Elizabeth's memory boxes have become part of British history. Still a very active designer, she shows the costumes she made for Madonna's Madame X tour in 2019, zipping between the racks of gowns, pulling them out one by one to tell their story. 'These have all been worn on the red carpet – this one was worn by Queen drummer Roger's wife Sarina Taylor for the Baftas and Golden Globes. This one by Queen Mary costume designer Alexandra Byrne, who was up for the Oscar.' Elizabeth's rock chick dresses look like they should be in an Adam and The Ants music video – with sharp military jackets and cartridge pleats over bodices and billowing tulle. She says: 'I do like an 18th century corset – it's very flattering. I did a version of that corset for director Martha Fiennes' wedding dress.' Elizabeth, from Hampstead, North West London, also does elegant and simple glamour. She tells the 5 documentary: 'This silver one was for Courtney Love. And we have done a lot for Rita Ora.' Many of the dresses look cream but when you get close up you can see the range of soft tones of her clothes. She explains: 'I tint them using things like avocado stones and tea bags.' She shows me some of dresses in her 'raggy style', made from bits of leftover embroidered fabric. The documentary reveals the extraordinary luck that brought the Emanuels and Diana together. Elizabeth says: 'We had been asked by Vogue to send them a pink blouse for a shoot – we didn't know it was with Diana. She liked it and asked who designed it.' When Diana turned up at the pair's studio to meet them, there was an instant bond. Elizabeth recalls: ''Diana was just 19 and we were just out of college, so we got on very well. She loved trying everything on. She was shy but had a great sense of humour.' The transformation of Diana happened when the Emanuels made her a daring, sexy black taffeta dress which sparked a media frenzy. 'The black dress became iconic because it turned her from a Sloane Ranger into a superstar, when she climbed out of the limousine in her first official outing with Prince Charles and she leaned forward. It turned Diana into a fashion icon.' In the documentary, Elizabeth also pays tribute to her father, the supermarket tycoon Buddy Weiner, who backed the struggling fashion graduates and set them up in business. She says: 'When we got the commission for the dress, the first person I wanted to tell was my dad. He was in intensive care with heart issues but I knew he would want to hear about it. 'The first thing he said was, 'Don't forget to charge VAT.' Typical dad!' Her father suggested the Emanuels bill a token sum of 1,000 guineas for the dress – £300,000 in today's money. Other revelations from the documentary include the stern looks Elizabeth got from the Queen Mother when sewing Diana into her wedding dress at Clarence House. 'We were making too much noise,' admits Elizabeth. 'At one point David even had to go underneath Diana's gown. When he emerged, Diana asked, 'David – have you ever met the Queen Mother?'' The Emanuels made Diana a global style icon as she embarked on a series of world tours with Prince Charles. Then things went quiet. 'There was a period of a year when we hadn't seen her and I was sick with worry thinking, 'Have we upset her'?' admits Elizabeth. 'I became ill with worry and the press started to say, 'Oh, they're out of favour.' She continues: 'So my dad wrote to her private secretary and I got a phone call out of the blue from Diana asking to dress her for the Gulf tour in 1986. 'She did so much for all the British fashion industry – not just us.' Reflecting on Diana's death aged 37, on August 31, 1997, in a car crash in Paris, Elizabeth says: 'It's so sad and almost unbelievable that somebody like that could just be wiped out so quickly. I remember being at her funeral with David. The music was soaring. It was just unbelievable. 'Then laying flowers at Kensington Palace. I've never seen so many flowers. Everyone was crying. We were so lucky to have shared that time in her life.' While there have been many royal weddings since then, none will ever be as magical as Charles and Diana's. Of Meghan's dress, she says: 'I can see why she chose it – it made a statement because it was so plain. Kate's was very elegant. She wore it beautifully. 'But at the end of the day, the wedding dress that everybody remembers is always Diana's.' • Secrets of Diana's Wedding Dress, Saturday June 28, 9pm. Watch | Stream on 5.
