Hartnell was responsible for numerous significant dresses worn by Princess Margaret. In 1951, he produced a beautiful lace cocktail dress, which Dorothy Wilding photographed her wearing in 1953. This dress was in-fitted dove-grey lace and filmy silk-tulle, displaying the hallmarks of Hartnell’s elegant, feminine style. It echoed the delicate ‘white’ wardrobe created by Hartnell for HRH Elizabeth the Queen Mother to wear to Paris in 1938. Interestingly, Christian Dior later cited these garments as a source of inspiration for his post-war creations.
