Princess Diana’s ‘most iconic’ garment, her black sheep jumper goes on display at Sotheby’s ahead of auction where it is expected to reach £70,000
- Princess Diana was first snapped wearing the jumper at a polo match in 1981
- READ MORE: The intriguing dramas behind these dresses worn by Princess Diana – including outfit that matched icy atmosphere between her and Charles
Princess Diana’s historic black sheep jumper has gone on view at Sotheby’s alongside letters sent between Buckingham Palace and the jumper’s designers.
Described by the auction house’s global head of fashion and accessories, Cynthia Houlton, as one of the ‘most iconic’ pieces the royal wore, the red knitted garment will be on view at Sotheby’s London Galleries from July 17-19.
It will then head to Sotheby’s Inaugural Fashion Icons Sale in New York, where it will go under the hammer on September 7, with an estimated price of between £40,000 and £70,000.
Diana first wore the woollen jumper – with its black and white sheep motif – to a polo match of her fiance, the then-prince of Wales, in June 1981.
It was one of the first pieces designed by Sally Muir and Joanna Osborne for their knitwear label Warm & Wonderful, and the outing helped catapult their brand into the public eye.
Princess Diana first wore the jumper in 1981, here she is snapped during another outing in the garment, a polo meeting in Windsor in 1983 with then-Prince Charles
The jumper, created by Warm & Wonderful is on display in Sotheby’s in London, before heading to New York where it will go under the hammer
They said: ‘Much to our amazement, the first we knew of Lady Diana Spencer wearing the sweater was when we saw her on the front page of one of the Sunday newspapers.
‘Her influence was impactful almost immediately thereafter, leading to a surge in sales and public awareness of our small label, for which we will be forever grateful.’
Alongside the jumper are two letters, which were sent between the label and Buckingham Palace.
According to Sotheby’s, Diana damaged the sleeve of the garment – perhaps by catching it on her engagement ring – so the Palace wrote to Warm & Wonderful asking for it to be repaired several weeks after the royal had been snapped wearing it.
They decided it would be best to replace it.
According to Sotheby’s Cynthia Houlton: ‘They sent her a new one in 1981, and then in 1983, she was actually photographed again wearing the replacement sweater at another polo match.’
This is significant, the spokesperson said because ‘in terms of pieces, if you think of Princess Diana and her wardrobe, she certainly had lots of options in terms of things she could have chosen to wear, things that…meant something to her’.
Cynthia explained: ‘This sweater…given the fact that she wore it more than once in very public settings…speaks a lot to how important the sweater was to her.’
The royal is snapped wearing the ‘Black sheep’ wool jumper by Warm and Wonderful to a polo meet in Windsor in 1981
The then-Lady Diana Spencer sits in her car during the polo match in Windsor, wearing the jumper for the first time in public
And the royal donned the sweater once more, wearing it once again to attend the polo in Windsor, this time in 1983 (here, she is snapped speaking with Sarah Ferguson)
Describing the jumper as ‘one of the most iconic pieces Princess Diana has ever been photographed in’, she added that the piece has never been to market before.
According to Cynthia: ‘It’s such an exciting thing that since 1981, we’ve been talking about it, and…are now auctioning it. To me, this is the single most iconic piece of hers.’
The brand knitted a new sweater for the late princess, but the whereabouts of the original remained unknown until they rediscovered it in March this year in their attic, tucked away in a small box beside a cotton bedspread.
Warm & Wonderful stopped producing the black sheep style in 1994, but it was reissued in 2020 as a collaboration with the brand Rowing Blazer.
The actress Emma Corrin wore a replica of the sweater when she played Diana in the fourth season of Netflix’s The Crown in 2020.
ICONIC: The jumper is so well-known, it was worn by the actor Emma Corrin who played Princess Diana in Netflix drama The Crown
The jumper, which was worn by the princess on multiple occasions, was recently rediscovered in a box in the attic of the manufacturers
TEAR: The small tear in the cuff could have been the result of the garment getting caught on the royal’s engagement ring, some have speculated
Meanwhile, a sweater of the same design is part of the permanent collection of London’s Victoria and Albert Museum.
Sotheby’s is offering the original sweater as part of its inaugural Fashion Icons sale which will run during New York Fashion week from August 31 to September 13.
The auction house holds the record for the most valuable Diana dress ever sold – an aubergine ball dress which was bought for 604,800 dollars (around £474,870) in January 2023.
It also sold Diana’s Attallah Cross to Kim Kardashian in the Royal and Noble auction in London in January for £163,800.
Speaking about the jumper, Sotheby’s global head of fashion and accessories Cynthia Houlton said: ‘This exceptional garment, meticulously preserved, carries the whispers of Princess Diana’s grace, charm, and her keen eye for fashion.’
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