Final Dissertation Conclusion and References

1.    Conclusion

The research contained within this report suggests that Diana was very conscious of every fashion choice she made. Looking at the different points in time of her public life you can see that see that Diana always had an understanding of the fact she could use Semiology. Her early attempts didn’t always go to plan, even though she had very much thought out each outfit.

The Nursery outfit in 1990, when Diana and Charles were dating, included a skirt adorned with hearts that conveyed her love. This encounter ended up being manipulated by the press.  Her Engagement outfit in 1981 had been chosen by Diana to project the blue sapphire of her engagement ring, however the actual choice of outfit wasn’t really suited to Diana as it was too old-fashioned for someone of her age. The Black taffeta dress, also in 1981, aimed to show Diana as sophisticated and grown up however it back-fired as it was ill fitting and was deemed too daring and revealing. In all three of these examples Diana had an intention of how she wished to be seen but in each case her message was overlooked by the media who found something else to focus on.

By the time of Diana’s wedding she was aware that she required advice and assistance to make sure that there were no more mistakes. Her wedding dress was the outfit which gained the most attention and Diana managed to convey her feelings successfully to the world through it. The message of a dream wedding to a prince and a happy ending was generally what the public saw through the media.

It was during Diana’s married life that she really took control of her image. She was very aware of the media and that whatever she wore would be analysed. She took this knowledge and used it to her advantage on occasions. Milliner Stephen Jones noted this in his meetings with Diana, “When I met the Princess at Kensington Palace she was always interested in the effect – “How will people see this? How will this be interpreted?” “(Howell, 1998, p.80).

Apart from being aware of the messages that she could convey through the media, Diana was also aware of using her outfits during interactions with individuals. This can be seen in the Caring Dress, used by Diana on visits to sick children, and with the change in her fashion choices whilst she was having an affair with James Hewitt.

By 1994 Diana had mastered how to portray herself to the media. This was the year that she wore the Revenge Dress. This dress was the perfect execution of Semiology and author Luise Wackerl in her 2012 book Royal Style noticed the same, saying ‘Never before had a woman selected her outfit with such tactical brilliance.’ (Wackerl, 2012, p.106). Diana managed to convey exactly the message that she wanted to the media without having to say a single word.

Today, naturally Kate Middleton is compared to Diana and it remains to be seen whether she will begin conveying messages through semiotics as clearly as Diana did. It appears that since having children of her own, Kate has taken on board the experiences of Diana and her relationship with both the media and the royal family, and is perhaps starting to shy away from both to focus on her family. If recent news stories are to be believed, it seems that Kate may choose to take a different path to Diana altogether. ‘She is said to loathe the constant comparisons with Diana’ and ‘she also dislikes references to her as a clothes horse’ (Kay, 2015) which shows that Kate is aware of Diana’s relationship with fashion and the media. As a result, ‘it has even been murmured that when the time comes, she might not want to be Princess of Wales at all’ (Kay, 2015).

2.    References

 Howell, G. (1998) Diana her life in fashion. London: Pavilion Books Limited

Craik, J. (2009) Fashion – the key concepts. Oxford: Berg

Kay, R. (2015) ‘Why is Kate becoming the invisible Princess? As she increasingly shrinks from the limelight, the question worried courtiers are whispering... Will the Duchess refuse to be the new Diana?’ Mail Online [Online]. Available at: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3206562/Why-Kate-invisible-Princess-increasingly-shrinks-limelight-question-worried-courtiers-whispering-Duchess-refuse-new-Diana.html (Accessed 24 January 2016)
Lusher, A. (2008) ‘Diana's designer reveals the secrets of the Princess's 'caring dress'’ Telegraph [Online]. Available at: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/diana/3534976/Dianas-designer-reveals-the-secrets-of-the-Princesss-caring-dress.html (Accessed 14 January 2016)

Modlinger, J. (1998) Woman of style Diana. Surrey: Quadrillion Publishing

Neel, J. (2011) ‘Style File – Diana, Princess of Wales’ Vogue [Online]. Available at: http://www.vogue.co.uk/spy/celebrity-photos/2011/04/15/style-file---diana-princess-of-wales/gallery/616479 (Accessed 1 October 2015)

Wackerl, L. (2012) Royal Style. Munich. London. New York: Prestel Verlag