A Never-Before-Displayed Dress Worn by Princess Margaret is On View at Kensington Palace
Whether it’s a flurry of excitement over a new dress worn at court in the 18th century, or a flurry of social media activity over an outfit worn by a 21st century princess, interest in royal style has long been fashionable. And now, a new Kensington Palace exhibition is celebrating the best of royal and court fashion and showcasing some never-before-displayed items.
A 1978 evening dress worn by Princess Margaret is shown publicly for the first time in exhibition Dress Codes, which opens this week at Kensington Palace. The outfit, by designer Thea Porter, features intricate gold beading and a loose cape, which the exhibition notes say was inspired by kaftans.
“It’s a dress that combines dress codes from the Middle East but in a western way as well,” curator Matthew Storey told T&C today during a preview tour of the exhibition. “For me, I’m always so interested in Princess Margaret because of her really deep connection with creative people and the creative scene. She had a real deep engagement and understanding of culture and she made Kensington a place where culturally interesting people gathered. That’s what I want to represent in that choice of clothes, is her connection to creative people, to creative scenes and how she expressed that so beautifully in her wardrobe.”
Dress Codes also features outfits worn by Princess Diana—a Catherine Walker green silk velvet tuxedo-style dress and a glittering red Bruce Oldfield dress worn in Saudi Arabia in 1986. “There’s nothing like the real thing to understand something,” Storey said. “You can see how beautifully made her clothes were, you can appreciate the designs.”
Also on show are two matching Liberty print dresses worn in 1936 by Princess Elizabeth and Princess Margaret.
Dress Codes showcases some of the 10,000 items of royal and court dress going back 500 years that are kept in the Royal Ceremonial Dress Collection, and explores how they relate to the dress codes we all follow in life. It’s not just royal outfits that are on display, there are also items of clothing worn by courtiers, debutantes, palace staff and outfits worn by members of the public to celebrate royal occasions.
Another item that has never been displayed before is a black bodice worn by Queen Victoria in her early years of mourning. “Very little survived from that era of her life,” Storey noted. “So that is why it’s so rare because it allows us to fill in some of the gaps in her biography as you could tell it through clothes.”
For the first time, Historic Royal Palaces, the independent charity which cares for the Royal Ceremonial Dress Collection as well as the public openings of Kensington Palace, has partnered with youth groups to include young people’s take within the exhibition. Some 25 14 to 17-year-olds helped create videos, music and fashion designs responding to the objects on display.
Dress Codes opens to the public on March 13, 2025 and will run until November 30. It is included in palace admission.
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