The legendary French designer who ended up creating the favourite outfit of a royal fashion icon

Princess Margaret has always been known as one of the most glamorous and fashion forward members of the royal family. From a young age, the princess made bold style choices that made her an icon. But do you know what look was her favourite? 

Princess Margaret favoured several designers over the course of her life. As with her sister, Queen Elizabeth II, and her mother, Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother, she often turned to Sir Norman Hartnell. 

Not only was Hartnell tapped to design Margaret’s bridesmaid dress for Elizabeth’s 1947 wedding, as well as her dress for the 1953 coronation, he also created her simple but sweeping 1960 wedding gown. 

In her later life, she turned to Dominican designer Oscar de la Renta. His extravagant and elegant gowns were perfect for her busy social life, a go-to look for the opera, film premieres, and galas. 

However, there was only one gown that Princess Margaret deemed her “favourite dress of all”- her 21st birthday dress from none other than Christian Dior. 

The gown features off-the-shoulder sleeves, a large, voluminous skirt, and a great deal of gold embellishments. 

The French designer spent months working on the gown. The front panel includes gold rhinestones, raffia details, mother-of-pearls, and sequins. 

Princess Margaret wore the gown for her official birthday portraits. Favourite photographer Cecil Beaton captured the now-iconic photos at Sandringham House at her birthday celebrations. And as it was still very much post-war Britain, she re-wore the gown again for a charity gala in November of that year. 

Lucky visitors were able to see the gown in-person in 2019 when the Victoria and Albert Museum hosted the Dior: Designer of Dreams exhibition.