Marie Claire UK
  • Fashion Fashion
      • Fashion
        • View all Fashion
        • Fashion Trends
        • Shopping
        • Watches and Jewellery
        • Fashion News
  • Beauty Beauty
      • Beauty
        • View all Beauty
        • Fragrance
        • Hair
        • Make Up
        • Skincare
        • Nails
        • Marie Claire Beauty Awards
  • Health Health
      • Health
        • View all Health
        • Fitness
        • Nutrition
        • Female Health
        • Wellbeing
  • Life Life
      • Life
        • View all Life
        • Opinions
        • Travel
        • Sustainability
        • Weddings
        • Money & Work
        • Competitions
  • Culture Culture
      • Culture
        • View all Culture
        • TV and Film
        • Celebrity News
        • Books
        • Royal News
  • Vouchers Vouchers
      • Clothing
        • View all Vouchers
        • Mint Velvet
        • Karen Millen
        • H&M
        • nobody's child
        • ASOS
        • ARKET
        • MANGO
      • Designer Clothing
        • View all Vouchers
        • Reiss
        • THE OUTNET
        • SSENSE
        • Mytheresa
        • Liberty London
        • Selfridges
        • Farfetch
      • Accessories
        • View all Vouchers
        • AllSaints
        • Aspinal of London
        • Charles & Keith
        • River Island
        • FitFlop
        • Kate Spade
        • Vagabond
      • Jewellery
        • View all Vouchers
        • Pandora
        • Abbott Lyon
        • Goldsmiths
        • Beaverbrooks
        • Astrid & Miyu
        • Swarovski
        • Angara Jewellery
      • Beauty
        • View all Vouchers
        • Sephora
        • Cult Beauty
        • Space NK
        • Dyson
        • Clarins
        • Look Fantastic
        • Clinique
      • Activewear
        • View all Vouchers
        • Lululemon
        • Gymshark
        • Sweaty Betty
        • Nike
        • adidas
        • New Balance
        • Helly Hansen
  • NEWSLETTER Signup to our newsletter
  • logoCreated with Sketch.
    Marie Claire Newsletter

    Celebrity news, beauty, fashion advice, and fascinating features, delivered straight to your inbox!


    By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.

    You are now subscribed

    Your newsletter sign-up was successful


    An account already exists for this email address, please log in.
    Trending
    • Latest Issue
    • Marie Claire Masters
    • Autumn Winter 2026
    • Nail Trends 2026
    • Best Investment Bags
    • Best Perfumes
    1. Style

    Why was Princess Diana’s wedding dress so creased?

    Penny Goldstone's avatar
    By Penny Goldstone
    Published 15 July 2020 In News

    When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works.

    • Facebook
    • X
    • Pinterest
    Share this article
    Join the conversation
    Follow us
    Add us as a preferred source on Google
    Subscribe to our newsletter

    Love it or loathe it, Princess Diana's wedding dress will forever remain as one of the most iconic royal wedding dresses of all time.

    Designed by David and Elizabeth Emanuel, the gown broke all records with its 10,000 pearls and mega long train and veil (it cost £9,000 at the time), and was accessorised with shoes that featured a romantic detail nodding to Prince Charles.

    Whilst many thought it was the perfect fairytale princess dress, at the time others did criticise one particular detail: the fact that it had creases.

    In fact, it even shocked designer Elizabeth, who said during an ITV appearance for Meghan and Harry's wedding, 'We did know it would crease a bit but when I saw her arrive at St Paul's and we saw the creasing I actually felt faint. I was horrified, really, because it was quite a lot of creasing. It was a lot more than we thought.'

    This happened despite many dress rehearsals in the run-up to the big day, and the wrinkles were apparently due to the carriage ride, according to the designer.

    You may like
    • woman wearing shift dress navy top I Just Got Back From Milan—This Retro-Inspired Dress Is What Italian Women Wear to Look Polished
    • Wedding planning I Love My Fiancé, but I Resent the Emotional Labour of Planning Our Wedding
    • Celebrity Handbags Everyday Handbags are Stealing the Spotlight—These are the 9 Styles Celebrities Including Rihanna and Kaia Gerber are Championing

    Speaking to the Daily Mail, Elizabeth said that the rehearsal hadn't factored in the fact that Diana would ride in the carriage with her father, or how big her dress had gotten, as the Princess apparently kept asking for a bigger train.

    'In the tiny carriage, it had crumpled far more than we’d anticipated. We’d done a rehearsal, but not with her father, Earl Spencer, in the car, too — and he was quite a large man. It was a hot day, there was so much volume in the net and she was nervous, so she kept grabbing hold of it in her hands. Fortunately, we knew the fabric would pull out — that’s why we were there', she said.

    Marie Claire Newsletter

    Celebrity news, beauty, fashion advice, and fascinating features, delivered straight to your inbox!

    By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.

    However, in the end it all worked out, as the designer said the wrinkles added romance to proceedings.

    'When she came out of that carriage, it was the most wonderful vision I’d ever seen. She looked like a butterfly emerging from her chrysalis, unfurling her wings and about to fly. It was so romantic. Oddly, the imperfections seemed to make her even more beautiful,' she added.

    Penny Goldstone
    Penny Goldstone
    Social Links Navigation
    Contributing Fashion Editor

    Penny Goldstone is the Contributing Fashion Editor at Marie Claire UK. She writes about catwalk trends and the latest high street and Instagram sartorial must-haves. She also helms the Women Who Win franchise.

    She has worked in fashion for over 10 years, contributing to publications such as Cosmopolitan, Red, Good Housekeeping, and Stylist.

    Read more
    woman wearing shift dress navy top
    Shopping I Just Got Back From Milan—This Retro-Inspired Dress Is What Italian Women Wear to Look Polished
    Wedding planning
    Relationships I Love My Fiancé, but I Resent the Emotional Labour of Planning Our Wedding
     
     
    Celebrity Handbags
    Shopping Everyday Handbags are Stealing the Spotlight—These are the 9 Styles Celebrities Including Rihanna and Kaia Gerber are Championing
    Kaia Gerber
    Shopping Kaia Gerber Just Wore the ’90s Dress Style That’s as Flattering as It Is Low-Effort
     
     
    Latest in Style
    Coach Gifting
    Shopping The Ultimate Christmas Gift? The Coach Tabby Bag Is the Handbag Everyone Wants to Unwrap
    olivia colman on the miu miu runway
    Fashion ‘Older’ Women on the Catwalks is Great, But Do Fashion and Beauty Brands Really Know Who We Are?
     
     
    Party jewellery
    Shopping 5 Jewellery Trends That Will Transform Even the Most Low-Effort Party Look
    Chanel shirts
    Fashion How Much is Too Much to Spend on a Shirt? And Where to Find the Best Ones
     
     
    Latest in News
    New Beauty Launches: Burberry Beauty / Mes Beauty / rhute / Jo Loves / Ziip Beauty
    Beauty The Beauty Digest: Jennifer Lawrence’s Unexpected Haircare Launch, Burberry’s Exquisite New Perfumes and Jo Loves Sparks Festive Joy
    New Beauty Launches: Amouage, Haus Labs, XERF
    Beauty The Beauty Digest: Is XERF Worth the Hype? Plus, Amouage’s New Body Collection & The Beauty Beat Returns
     
     
    Jeans And Jackets
    Shopping Celine Dion, Daisy Edgar-Jones and Sarah Pidgeon Swear by This Trophy Jacket-and-Jeans Formula for Instant Fashion Confidence
    Next
    Shopping NEXT’s Autumn/Winter 2026 Collection Has Everything We Love About Getting Dressed in the Colder Months
     
     
    logoCreated with Sketch.
    • Site Archive
    • Contact Future's experts
    • Contact us
    • Terms and conditions
    • Advertise with us
    • Privacy policy
    • Cookies policy
    • About us
    Add as a preferred source on Google Add as a preferred source on Google

    Marie Claire UK is part of Future plc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Visit our corporate site.

    © Future Publishing Limited Quay House, The Ambury, Bath BA1 1UA. All rights reserved. England and Wales company registration number 2008885.