Late Princess Diana's designer reveals her style secrets

Jul 11, 2006, 13:27 GMT

Britain's late Princess Diana's favourite designer has revealed how he turned her into a style icon.

Jacques Azagury -who claims he transformed Prince Charles' first wife's wardrobe - has spoken for the first time about his friendship with Diana.

The Moroccan designer was quoted in Britain's Sunday Express Newspaper as saying: 'Diana came to me when she wanted to let her dress do the talking.

'She called them statement dresses and recognised the power of a 'performance' dress - one to turn heads and grab headlines.'

According to Azagury, when he first met Diana, she was bulimic and painfully shy. In the next ten years, he claimed, he used clothes to build her confidence.

He said: 'At first, she resisted the change. She wanted to hide her beauty but I said, 'You're a beautiful woman - enjoy it!''

The designer says Diana hated formality and always greeted him at the door of Kensington Palace, rather than expecting a butler to do it.

Diana wore many memorable dresses designed by Azagury - including a beaded white dress she donned at Christie's auction in 1996 and a full-length black sequinned gown, which Azagury designed as a surprise 36th birthday gift for the princess in 1997.

The birthday party was the last time Diana was seen wearing a formal outfit and black the gown is displayed at the Althorp Museum, along with her other Azagury favourites.

Copyright 2006 BANG Media International