From the "revenge dress" to Diana's love of sweaters, here's a break down of the princess' outfits on season 5.
After Emma Corrin originated the role of Princess Diana in season 4 of The Crown, Elizabeth Debicki takes over as the late princess in the final two installments of creator Peter Morgan's Netflix drama about the royal family. With season 5 spanning from 1990 to the summer of 1997, the new episodes see the Australian actress recreating a number of Diana's memorable looks.
Just like last season, there were a number of outfits on the series inspired or directly recreated by real-life outfits and hair styles, with costume designer Amy Roberts and assistant costume designer Sidonie Roberts as well as hair and makeup designer Cate Hall responsible for capturing that essence on screen.
"We are trying to create a living grieving character that feels believable," Hall said of the creative team's efforts to speak to Diana's life at that time, which includes "big family issues, marriages breaking up," Amy Roberts added.
Here's a look at what is featured in season 5, from Diana's notorious "revenge dress" to her animal print swimsuits, as the princess came into her own as a fashion icon. "She's the emblem for the '90s," Hall said, with Debicki telling ET later, "There's an enormous amount of footage that is suddenly available to you, so I just sort of dove in really deep."
Episode 1: "Queen Victoria Syndrome"
In the season 5 premiere, Prince Charles (Dominic West) and Diana are seen going on what was dubbed as their "second honeymoon," which saw them travel as a family along the coast of Italy and through the Mediterranean. Though, the two outfits seen recreated on the show are from two other family trips.
The first is Diana's Bellville Sassoon floral print dress from her trip with Charles to the Universal Exposition of Seville, Spain in 1992.
The second is an animal print swimsuit (which was likely made by Gottex) that Diana wore during her 1990 visit to Necker Island in the British Virgin Islands. This one shouldn't be confused with her 1997 boat trip with Dodi al-Fayed (Khalid Abdalla), which will be featured in season 6.
Episode 2: "The System"
The second episode, which sees Diana wearing several of her signature oversized sweaters, is largely focused on her decision to record tapes for Andrew Morton's controversial tell-all book, Diana, and how she came to rely on a close friend to help relay the questions and recordings.
One scene depicts Diana visiting a hospital where her close friend works. It is similar to the red outfit she wore in 1992 to the opening of a new wing at the Royal Marsden Hospital in London.
Episode 4: "Annus Horribilis"
While "Annus Horribilis" is largely focused on what Queen Elizabeth II (Imelda Staunton) is going through during what is considered one of the worst years of her reign, Diana is briefly seen in a Buffalo Plaid jacket and skirt that's similar to ones she wore to multiple events.
One was in 1990, when she donned an Escada suit for a visit to Tenterden in Kent while the other is a red and black tartan suit she wore during a 1992 visit to the St. Helen's Rugby Club in Wales.
Episode 5: "The Way Ahead"
The halfway point of season 5 is a pivotal one as the episode depicts the leaked recording of a private phone call between Charles and Camilla Parker Bowles (Olivia Williams) and a televised interview Charles did later in 1992. It was during that on-camera conversation that he admitted to adultery, which prompted Diana to wear the now infamous "revenge dress" to a 1994 dinner at the Serpentine Gallery in Kensington Gardens.
This was one of a few outfits the creative team felt like they had to do their best to recreate, and not design something of their own inspired by the outfit. In fact, the team got permission from designer Christina Stambolian to replicate the "little black dress" for the series. "That 'revenge dress' is such a tricky thing to make," Amy Roberts said, explaining that they had to "sculpt it to Elizabeth's body." Sidonie Roberts added that "Elizabeth's torso is different to Diana's."
Episode 7: "No Woman's Land"
In another Diana-centric episode, there are several outfits recreated, with Debicki donning a version of Diana's red puffer jacket and blue baseball cap from her 1994 skiing trip to Lech, Austria, another one of her many, many evening gowns and various social visits.
The most notable outfit, though, was the blue suit jacket and black dress she wore on Prince William's (Senan West) first day of school at Eton College in 1995.
Episode 8: "Gunpowder"
After planting the seeds for Diana's controversial Panorama interview with reporter Martin Bashir (Prasanna Puwanarajah) in the previous episode, "Gunpowder" largely focuses on her decision to go through with the on-camera conversation that was taped on Guy Fawkes Day before being broadcast on Nov. 20, the same day as the queen's wedding anniversary with Prince Philip (Jonathan Pryce).
While Debicki wears a nearly identical outfit, which was comprised of one of Andrew Ramroop’s oversized blazers over a simple white top, she's also seen on an impromptu date with Hasnat Khan (Humayun Saeed). That outfit most closely resembles a matching blazer and turtleneck getup she was photographed wearing at the Zurich Airport when she arrived for her Austrian ski trip.
Episode 10: "Decommissioned"
In the season 5 finale, Diana attends a Royal Gala Performance of Swan Lake at London's Royal Albert Hall in June 1997. It's there she bumps into Mohamed Al-Fayed (Salim Daw), and as the two leave, they are chased by paparazzi in a harrowing scene foreshadowing her death just a few months later.
While Diana wore a dress by designer Jacques Azagury, which eventually sold for $12 million during a 2017 auction, the outfit that is seen in the episode more closely mimics the Catherine Walker halter neck dress she was spotted in during another event at Serpentine Gallery in June 1995.
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