Designers of Diana’s wedding dress settle High Court battle over drawings of gown

David Emanuel brought legal action against Elizabeth Emanuel, his former spouse and business partner, over alleged copyright infringement

Designers of Princess Diana’s wedding dress have settled a High Court battle over drawings of the gown and their other designs.
David Emanuel brought legal action against Elizabeth Emanuel, his former spouse and business partner, as well as a south London auction house, over alleged copyright infringement.
The High Court in London was told that the pair designed and produced a number of clothes for Diana, including several evening gowns and a blouse worn for her official engagement portrait.
According to court documents, Mr Emanuel previously claimed that Ms Emanuel had infringed his copyright by reproducing drawings of the designs that they had collaborated on and putting them up for sale without his consent, including of Diana’s wedding dress.
He claimed that to do so infringed his copyright, and went back on their separation agreement, where they both vowed not to use the Emanuel label in their future work.
However, in a statement on Friday, the pair announced that they had settled the case “amicably”.
Ms Emanuel said: “During our time together, David and I created many of the most famous clothes of the 20th century.
“David was instrumental in the success of The Emanuel Partnership and I am glad that we have put our recent differences behind us and can now look forward to continuing our respective careers.”
Mr Emanuel said: “Emanuel was at the forefront of haute couture in the 1980s until Elizabeth and I went our separate ways.
“Our creations were very much in demand from the world’s most famous women throughout that period.
“We had a very distinctive house style and in keeping with that we created some of the most iconic dresses of the 20th century.”
Mr and Ms Emanuel first met at the Harrow School of Art in 1974, when she was 21 and he was 22. They married in 1976.
In the year of their wedding, the pair became the first married couple to be accepted to the Royal College of Art.
They started their label as soon as they graduated in 1977, opening a studio opposite Claridge’s, and began serving clients – from Bond girl Barbara Bach, who married Ringo Starr in one of their dresses, to royals Princess Michael of Kent and Princess Anne.
Diana came to the couple in search of a dress for her first formal engagement with Prince Charles – a fundraising concert at Goldsmiths’ Hall in March – choosing a strapless black gown.
She returned to them ahead of her wedding day in 1981, and they designed her one of the most influential wedding gowns in history. The dress was embellished with 10,000 pearls and had a 25ft train that was the longest in royal wedding history.
Mr and Ms Emanuel were catapulted to global fame after an estimated 28 million Britons watched the broadcast of the wedding at St Paul’s Cathedral.
Diana ordered many more outfits from them after her wedding.