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Wit h<br />
Christ ina St am bolian<br />
Fashion designer, m ost not ably know n for t he "Revenge Dress" fam ously w orn<br />
by HRH Princess Diana.<br />
So Christ ina, t ell us a bit about yourself,<br />
w here did you grow up?<br />
I was born in Greece by Armenian parents so<br />
Greek is my first language. I went to Greek<br />
school from 6 till 12 years of age and then to a<br />
Greek-French school from 12 till 18. After that<br />
an Art College for 4 years in Athens, where I<br />
finished a degree course in Art, Theatre<br />
costume, Architecture, and fashion design.<br />
What m ade you decide t o follow a career in<br />
fashion? w hen did it st art ?<br />
I loved fashion since I was a small child. The first<br />
dresses I designed were for my only doll I had<br />
at that time. Cinema and film stars inspired me<br />
a lot those days. I collected photographs of<br />
them, and I knew that one day that's what I was<br />
going to be: A designer to glamorous women.<br />
When w as your first professional job in t he<br />
fashion indust ry? I came to London in 1970<br />
and work as a fashion designer for four<br />
deferent fashion houses until 1978. I was based<br />
in London and in 1978 I was employed by D.P.<br />
Designs, where I started designing under<br />
my name ?Christina Stambolian? , producing<br />
collection of approx. 80 samples of Day,<br />
Cocktail, Evening and Wedding dresses each<br />
season worn by High Society, TV and Film<br />
personalities. I designed and produced 15 full<br />
scale Cat Walk Shows at prestigious venues<br />
such as Park Lane, Intercontinental, and<br />
Claridges hotels. I was interviewed by various<br />
TV Networks in UK, USA, and Greece. Having<br />
extensively travelled the Far East, I have given<br />
the opportunity to produce and supervise the<br />
manufacture of Silk Separates, Lace,<br />
embroidery and textile printing in Hong Kong<br />
and Korea. My designs were sold under my<br />
label in my Paris boutique 2 Rue de Tournon,<br />
and in my London Kensington boutique 12<br />
Beauchamp Place.<br />
Do you have a favourit e design you have<br />
creat ed?<br />
I loved many of my creations. Of course Diana?s<br />
?Revenge dress? was a success designed and<br />
made skilfully with lots of hand pleating and<br />
love, and that statuesque Diana in mind. So yes<br />
is a piece that I am particularly proud of.<br />
Talking about Diana, how did you com e<br />
about designing t hat fam ous dress for her?<br />
How did it st art ?<br />
One day out of the blue Diana and her brother<br />
Earl Spencer paid me a visit in my then<br />
boutique in Beauchamp Place, Kensington.<br />
Diana wonted me to design a dress for her for a<br />
special occasion. I knew that as she was a very<br />
beautiful woman she should wear a dress that<br />
would do her beauty justice. Something<br />
exquisite. Several weeks and two fittings<br />
later the outcome of her visit was delivered to<br />
her, cut to reveal her body quite unlike any style<br />
she had worn before. She wore my dress two<br />
years later to the Serpentine Gallery in June<br />
1994, on the night Prince Charles admitted to<br />
his affair with Camilla Parker Bowles in his<br />
interview with Jonathan Dimbleby. Diana' s<br />
dressing style changed over the years. She<br />
started with conservative young outfits some of<br />
them very busy and overpowering. As she got<br />
older she became more aware of her beauty so<br />
her fashion style improved remarkably,<br />
definitely more feminine and glamorous. She<br />
could also be stylish in casual sports wear.<br />
Did Diana buy anyt hing else from your st ore<br />
or ask you t o design anym ore?<br />
When she came to my boutique she also<br />
bought a woollen dress and two little silk tops.<br />
Almost just after she got married I have seen<br />
her on TV news wearing a long jersey forest<br />
green dress of mine , she must of purchased it<br />
from a shop we supplied dresses to that time. I<br />
never designed anything else for her. But she<br />
did write to me that she will definitely visit me<br />
again soon, but unfortunately that did not<br />
happen? . as she left us for ever soon after<br />
that? .. So that was the end of the ?Diana belle<br />
époque?? ? .<br />
Do you have any advice for any young<br />
persons w ishing t o follow in t he sam e<br />
career?<br />
My advice to young designers is that they<br />
should find their personal characteristic style. It<br />
is so important to be yourself as a designer<br />
and stick to your own signature. Follow the<br />
trend but keep your own identity, and always<br />
think than ?the woman should wear the dress,<br />
the dress should not wear the woman".<br />
When you design for an individual make sure to<br />
hide her imperfections and show clearly her<br />
good points. That makes a successful designer.<br />
A student designer should get a dressmaker' s<br />
dummy and a sewing machine at home, and<br />
make patterns on the dummy. Moulding and<br />
draping fabrics of different texture on her. That<br />
way you learn the feel of fabrics.Every fabric<br />
needs different treatment.<br />
Could you recom m end any schools for young<br />
designers?<br />
Because I studied art and fashion in Greece I<br />
could not recommend best training and<br />
education places for fashion studies. I guess St.<br />
Martin' s has a very strong name for fashion.<br />
Is t here anyt hing else you w ould like t o add?<br />
I would like to point out that the famous<br />
?Revenge dress? that started out as a daring<br />
idea in my then boutique in Kensington is been<br />
used for several worthy charitable causes so<br />
far. That really makes me proud and happy.
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