The TV series 'The Crown 4' made its début on Netflix with a frame based on Charles and Diana's Royal Wedding. The 1981 event had 750 million viewers glued to their television screens, an absolute record. The right occasion to review the famous wedding dress, this time worn by Emma Corrin, slighter but bearing a striking resemblance to Lady D.

A model philologically reproduced by costume designer Amy Roberts, winner of several Emmys, who recreated detail upon detail, for a credible and perfect copy. "It was with that dress that I truly felt like her", the actress declared. It was created by David and Elizabeth Emanuel, partners in love and in work, who rose to fame thanks to Bianca Jagger and the look she wore at Studio 54 for her birthday.

Their aim was to bring to life a dress fit for a princess, the stuff of fairytale dreams. Fifteen trials and 5 months later they succeeded and, given the sheer size of the model, fitting took place in princess Anne's rooms rather than at the atelier. A few numbers: 90 metres of tulle for the undergown, 140 metres for the veil, 10 thousand pearls and sequins, 7 and a half metres of train, the longest in the history of royal weddings. An ultra-long train and exaggerated volumes, perhaps in consideration of the sheer enormity of St. Paul's cathedral, but also of the shyness and ingenuity of a girl who was doing something greater than herself and who deserved to be supported somehow. 

Puffed sleeves, a heart-shaped bodice made from antique lace dating back to Queen Anne (something old), ruffles, lace, taffeta, Dorset silk, a small blue bow sewn into the interior of the gown (something blue). All this was completed by the Spencer tiara, a family heirloom dating back to the 18th century which Diana preferred over the Lover's Knot Tiara given to her by Queen Elizabeth, sported with wedding slippers so that she would not appear taller than Charles. Apparently she herself phoned the stylists, selected upon the advice of the director of Vogue, testifying to her proactiveness yet simplicity of spirit, especially since she thanked them with a signed card, light years away from formal letters of Buckingham Palace. The dress became an icon with its ivory tonality, selected to complement the princess' rosy complexion. It was elevated to long-standing must have status, straight from a fairy tale, albeit without a happy ending.

When examined today, it offers a perfect interpretation of the Eighties, despite appearing excessively voluminous, with that immense gown and its overly-generous sleeves. Yet again it highlights just how bridal dresses tell the story of their times and wearer: dreams, desires and sometimes, their melancholy.