Search for a mystery buyer who snapped up Princess Diana’s ballerina-length velvet evening dress for a record £904,000 at auction – making it the most expensive piece of hers ever sold

The hunt is on for a mystery Princess Diana superfan after a dress she wore in 1985 broke fashion records and sold for almost £1million at auction.

The black, ballerina-length velvet evening dress sold for eleven times its estimate at Julien’s Auctions in Hollywood after tipping for $100,000.

Fans of the late Princess fought to unforeseen heights yesterday, with the winner handing out $1.148 million (£904,262).

The dress, complete with shoulder pads, a blue organza skirt, a large blue bow and a sash, is now the new record holder as the most expensive dress worn by Diana to be sold at auction.

The previous record holder, a 1991 velvet dress by Victor Edelstein, fetched $604,800 (£476,437) at auction in January.

Princess Diana and then Prince Charles in Florence during a dinner at Palazzo Vecchio in Florence, Italy in 1985

Diana first wore the dress to a dinner at Palazzo Vecchio in Florence, Italy in 1985, while on a royal tour with her then-husband Charles, Prince of Wales. She also performed it again with the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra in 1986.

The identity of the buyer of the Jacques Azagury dress is unknown, prompting speculation about who Diana’s mega-fan could be.

The collectible is made from fabric chosen by world-renowned textile merchant Jakob Schlaepher and features blue metallic embroidered stars that have been carefully threaded by the design team.

The ballerina skirt was considered a nod to her patronage of the English National Ballet and her love of dance.

Auctioneers describe the outfit as a ‘beautiful, romantic ballerina-length evening dress’.

The catalog continued: ‘With padded shoulder pads, it features a black velvet bodice with embroidered stars in metallic thread made from Jakob Schlaepfer fabric with a two-tiered royal blue organza skirt with a sash and bow.

‘Diana wore numerous Azagury dresses and gowns, one of her favorites being an ice blue silk Georgette mini dress which she wore at the Royal Albert Hall for a performance of Swan Lake on 3 June 1997.’

There were 19 bids on the dress and all proceeds from the sale went to the NEW York Historical Society.

The identity of the buyer of the Jacques Azagury dress is unknown, prompting speculation about who could be Diana’s mega-fan

A dress worn by Diana, Princess of Wales in 1985 broke a new fashion record and went under the hammer in Hollywood for eleven times its estimated price

The bodice of the dress features carefully embroidered blue metallic stars

The black, ballerina-length velvet evening dress sold at Julien’s Auctions for a total of US$1,148,080 (£904,262)

The ballerina skirt was considered a nod to her patronage of the English National Ballet and her love of dance

The pink crepe blouse with a ruffled collar and loose pleats at the front, worn by Diana, was captured on film by royal photographer Lord Snowdon

Diana went on to wear several Jacques Azagury pieces during her time with the royal family, after the Moroccan-British fashion designer was introduced to her by Anna Harvey, the fashion editor of British Vogue.

Also for sale at the Julien’s Auctions and TCM Present: Hollywood Legends event was a blouse Diana wore for her 1981 engagement portrait.

The pink crepe blouse has a pleated collar and loose pleats at the front and was captured on film by royal photographer Lord Snowdon.

The blouse is credited to designers David and Elizabeth Emmanuel, who later created her wedding dress for her 1981 wedding to Charles.

It sold for $381,000 (£300,990), almost four times its original estimate of $80,000.

Hollywood star clothes also auctioned included a Givenchy dress worn by Audrey Hepburn in the 1963 comedy Charade.

Elsewhere, a sleeveless dress worn by Gloria Swanson in the 1950 noir film Sunset Boulevard and Barbra Streisand’s sailor dress from a 1960s special called My Name Is Barbra.