All about Princess Diana’s 1996 Met Gala dress: The ‘torn’ corset and the colour she refused to wear

Princess Diana had full creative control over her iconic look at the 1996 Met Gala, her only time walking “the world’s most influential red carpet.”

In Hulu’s new docuseries, “In Vogue: The 90s,” designer John Galliano opens up about his experience working with the Princess of Wales during his tenure as creative director of Dior.

“I remember one day we all got in an old van and went to London, where we met Princess Diana,” he recalled. “She was invited to the Met, and she wore one of my dresses.”

“It was like a blessing. I mean, wow,” Galliano said in the series. “We went to Kensington Palace and discussed the pictures.”

Despite being one of the most influential designers at the time, Galliano said Diana held him back a bit when it came to his look.

“I was insisting on pink, but she wasn’t having it. ‘No, not pink!'” he thought. “It was really funny.”

“So we finished the dress and the subsequent fitting, and it was done so beautifully.”

However, when the big night arrived, Galliano realized Diana had made some last-minute changes to the slinky navy slip dress with black lace.

“At the beginning of the incident, all I remember is her getting out of the car,” Galliano said, stunned. “I couldn’t believe it. She had ripped the corset off.”

“She didn’t want to wear the corset,” he added. “She felt so free. She ripped the corset off. The dress was too … erotic.”

Diana wore this famous gown with a stunning pearl and sapphire choker and a quilted blue satin bag – later named the Lady Dior in her honour.

She also arrived at the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s annual benefit gala, which that year was meant to pay tribute to the life and legacy of Christian Dior and his brand, wearing a matching satin robe, which she removed after the red carpet.

Galliano said, “Wow! Diana was my first couture customer.”

Diana walked the red carpet alongside her friend and former Harper’s Bazaar editor Liz Tilberis, and the memorable moment came just months after her divorce from future King Charles.

“I think we were all very impressed and fascinated by Princess Diana,” Anna Wintour says in the new series.

“At the time, she was the most famous woman in the world,” the Vogue editor added. “She was enjoying fashion and her popularity, especially for British designers.”

Less than a year after her Met Gala debut, Diana tragically died in a car crash. She was 36.