Princess Diana's style is more on trend than ever, says ex Vogue editor

Polka dots, big shoulders and dad trainers are just some of the big fashion trends having a moment this season.

But a former Vogue editor has pointed out that one iconic woman appears to be our unlikely style inspiration for all three and more.

The late Princess Diana was an early-adopter in the late 1980s and early 1990s.

Alexandra Shulman - who worked at the helm of British Vogue for 25 years until 2017 - has suggested her sartorial influence can still be felt in the wardrobes of the current generation of young women.

READ MORE: 'Harry's one regret will be he can't share parenthood with Diana,' says royal expert

“For 30 years after the pinstripe tailoring, polka dot frocks, big shoulders and dad trainers of the late 1980s and early 1990s, their most famous adopter, Princess Diana, has emerged as a style inspiration for a generation of young women who were rocking little more than nappies while she was still alive,” she wrote in today’s Mail On Sunday.

Shulman explained that the royal wasn’t considered a particularly “original or interesting dresser” at the time, and was more of a “follower rather than leader of fashion”.

The ex-editor explained: “Perhaps we could never quite get out of our heads those first images of her in the regulation Sloane kit of pie-crust collar blouses, frumpy floating midi skirts and that ballooning meringue of a wedding dress, all of which we considered, frankly, style-negative.

“So even when she emerged as the shimmering blonde greyhound of later days in the Versace sheaths, tuxedos and glamorous Catherine Walker evening gowns she was introduced to by her style mentor, Anna Harvey, there was always something of a follower rather than leader of fashion about her.”

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Now, as Shulman points out, Diana’s style can be felt in current trends.

She frequently wore monochrome polka dots - not dissimilar to Zara’s cult smock dress.

Priyanka Chopra revealed the mother of her friend Meghan Markle’s husband Prince Harry - who passed away in 1997 - was the inspiration for one of her Cannes looks this year.

The actress shared a picture on Instagram of the late royal at the 1988 premiere of Octopussy, before stepping out in a remarkably similar dress just hours later.

READ MORE: Shop the Zara polka dot dress everyone is talking about

And popular fashion brand Rixo is selling a high neck ruffle-front dress called the ‘Diana Floral’.

The description reads: “Feel as though you are the people’s princess when you wear this gorgeous dress.”

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