The Cannes Film Festival was very different in the ’80s. Back then, when the world’s A-listers gathered on the French riviera to celebrate and engage with the hottest cinematic talent in the business, there was no reason to announce a ban on “grotesque” selfies, for example. But one red carpet occurrence that we’e still talking about all these years later is when Princess Dianna paid the festival a visit in a dress that’s still iconic today.

In May of 1987, Princess Diana and Prince Charles flew across the channel for Cannes’ 40th anniversary. She was photographed wearing a powder blue chiffon gown by one of her favorite designers, Catherine Walker. The dress was worn with a matching scarf and quickly became one of Princess Diana’s most fondly remembered style moments.

princess diana and princce charles cannes getty images

The dress was put up for auction at the Julien’s Auction Hollywood Legends Memorabilia auction in 2011, however it wasn’t until just before the Cannes Film Festival in 2013 that it was eventually sold at the LA auction house for a cool $109,526 — the proceeds from which went to a children’s charity.

Princess Diana wore the gown and accompanied it with a knotted scarf down the red carpet when she walked with Prince Charles, the Mayor of Cannes and his deputy to the premier of a film thirty years ago and we are still just as much in awe as photographers and the onlookers were when they saw Diana wear it in person all that time ago.

This post was written by Jazmin Kopotsha. It originally appeared on our sister site, Grazia Daily.

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