Diana, the Princess of Wales, pictured in one of her trademark dresses attending a private event. The dress is now on display as part of the Dresses for Humanity II exhibit. (photo from Dresses for Humanity)
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By J.W. ARNOLD
Thursday, May 08, 2008
Both drag queens and fashionistas—not that the categories are necessarily mutually exclusive—are flocking to the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Hollywood for a rare glimpse at dresses worn by Diana, Princess of Wales.
The exhibition of six gowns, Dresses for Humanity II, will be on display through Sunday, May 11 in the hotel ballroom. Proceeds from tickets and souvenir sales will benefit The People’s Princess Charitable Foundation.
Among the showcased gowns are several by designer Catherine Walker, including a champagne-colored glass beaded shift; a long, beaded evening dress in champagne silk and lace; and a nautical-themed evening dress in navy blue silk crepe. Two other dresses in the collection were worn at private parties; the sixth dress is a heavily-sequined halter dress.
The People’s Princess Charitable Foundation was founded in 1998 by Maureen Rorech Dunkel, who presided over the Monday, May 5 unveiling ceremony at the hotel. Dunkel, a Tampa, Fla. businesswoman, was the anonymous buyer who purchased 14 dresses in the famous Christie’s auction, in which Diana herself donated 79 of her dresses to raise money for AIDS and cancer charities. The total collection sold for an unprecedented $3.6 million.
“Here I was, the anonymous buyer at the auction,” Dunkel recalls, “and then Diana was killed just a few weeks later. I had bought the dresses purely as an investment. I knew I had to do something more.”
Dunkel’s dresses, along with others purchased at the Christie’s auction, were collected and the exhibit was displayed around the world for nearly four years and viewed by more than 3 million people, before being retired to Kensington Palace, Princess Diana’s London home. The exhibitions have raised more than $1.1 million for charities in the United States and Canada. In 2011, the dresses will return to their home at the foundation’s headquarters in Tampa.
To complement the regal display at the Seminole Hard Rock, several never-before-seen legendary “rock royalty” memorabilia has also been placed on display, including clothes worn by knighted performers Mick Jagger, Eric Clapton and Elton John.
Elton John’s green and white cotton jacket, decorated with brightly colored flowers with a matching shirt and cream pants, convey the gay singer and composer’s most flamboyant period, and the ensemble is completed with matching glasses.
Also on hand for the ceremony was Rita Gilligan, a waitress hired for the opening of the original Hard Rock Café in London in 1971 and now international goodwill ambassador for the restaurant chain. Gilligan entertained guests at the opening reception with stories of the early days of the restaurant when rockers such as Pete Townsend and Paul McCartney would hang out before and after gigs.
“The Hard Rock’s motto, ‘Love all. Serve all.’ certainly describes the amazing work of Princess Diana,” Gilligan told the audience after sharing anecdotes about many of the legends of rock and roll.
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