Final Dissertation Abstract and Introduction

Abstract

This report will use findings from a variety of resources, including sources of secondary research, to investigate Diana’s ability to use fashion in order to convey her emotions and certain messages. The resources used included a range of books and authority websites. These cover Diana’s fashion experiences from when she was first brought into the public eye right through to the months before her untimely death.

1.    Introduction

The aim of this essay is to investigate to what extent Princess Diana learnt to use fashion to convey her emotions and messages through the media. I want to look at a range of outfits that Diana used during her time in the public eye, such as her wedding dress and the famous ‘Revenge Dress’. I wish to discover more about these examples and the context in which they were used.

I aim to break down my investigation into different periods of her life. This will include her time before marriage, during her married life and short period of her life after her break-off with the Royal Family. Diana was the most popular Royal and the focus of much media attention. Aware of this, it appears that Diana managed to channel her inner feelings through the outfits that she chose. This is what I aim to investigate by looking at the background surrounding a number of the outfits Diana chose.

I am going to look at how well the fashion theory of ‘Semiotics’ ties into my research question. Semiology of fashion is ‘the meaning of the formal properties and signs of garment decorations.’ (Craik, 2009, p335).

‘Fashion is not just a covering for the body but a means of communicating about the body and thus can be considered a symbolic system where clothes and the rules that govern how they can be worn can be seen as a type of language or set of signs’. (Craik, 2009, p109-110).

This theory looks to link well to the thought of Diana communicating her emotions and feelings to the media through her choice of fashion. Semiotics is essentially using fashion as a tool through which to communicate and in the case of Diana, she was communicating using fashion through the media and to the world.

Diana found herself in a unique position as she was the first person to court and go onto marry an heir to the throne in the new media age. Findings from this research may prove useful in any assessment of Kate Middleton and her marriage to Prince William, as Kate also finds herself under the intense glare of the media. Naturally already many comparisons have been made between Kate and her mother in law.