Victor Edelstein and His Work — Facts Revealed

Princess diana
3 min readMay 4, 2022

You might have come across the name “Victor Edelstein” many times whenever you have tried to explore the life and persona of The People’s Princess Diana! But who is Victor Edelstein and what associated him with Princess Diana? Let us talk about the man in question below and find out a few facts about him.

Born in London on 10th of July 1946, Victor Edelstein is a former couturier renowned for his fashion designs for the Princess of Wales, Diana in the 1980s. Victor was described as the English equivalent to Oscar de la Renta and “the master of the English thoroughbred look” in 1989. Now he works as a painter.

Career

In 1962 Victor began working as a trainee designer for Alexon. Along with working for Alexon and Salvador, he also worked for Nettie Vogues, Clifton Slimline, and Biba. While he launched his own label in 1970, it was short-lived. After which he spent three years working for the London branch of Christian Dior S.A. under Jorn Langberg’s supervision. And then he re-launched his label in 1978. Victor Edelstein focused exclusively on haute couture in 1982 and also designed for the ballet and theatres.

His Clients

Victor Edelstein had a number of renowned clients that included the Duchess of Kent, the Princess of Hanover, Princess Michael of Kent, the Countess of Snowdon, Anna Wintour, Tina Brown, Michael Heseltine’s wife Anne, and Lady Nuttall. But the work of Victor that got the most limelight was the ink-blue velvet gown he created in 1985 for Diana, Princess of Wales, which she wore to the White House and danced with John Travolta. This dress of the princess sold at auction setting world record prices of £137,000 ($222,500) in 1996, and £240,000 ($362,424) in 2013. His workroom was based at Stanhope Mews West in London, on which Lady Nuttall once commented that it was the only place her husband liked to accompany her for shopping clothes! During the late 1980s, he quoted a price mark for an evening dress around the £2,400 to £2,500 mark, with his clients purchasing three to four outfits every season.

His Career in Later Years

In the year 1993, Victor Edelstein closed his fashion house, explaining that there was no longer a market that sought luxurious custom designed clothing! After that he has established himself as an artist and since then, he is exhibiting his work all over Europe and the US. Victor’s wife, Annamaria Succi, is also a painter. One of the remarkable portraits he made was of Judith Martin, the American etiquette authority known as ‘Miss Manners’. The portrait was custom made and was her 70th birthday present by her husband. Today the portrait hangs in the National Portrait Gallery, Washington.

Conclusion:

You can discover several such facts about Princess Diana and Victor Edelstein at The Princess Diana Museum. For more information visit https://princessdianamuseum.org/

You can follow along on Facebook + Instagram as we showcase more behind-the-scenes of The Princess & Platypus Foundation head to the UK!

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