What Is The Most Influential Wedding Dress Of The 20th Century?

Ever since Queen Victoria wore white lace to the first highly publicised Royal Wedding, many lavish gowns, bridal tiaras, veils and trains have walked down the aisle and taken the breath away of not only the groom but many onlookers as well.

However, one aspect of wedding dresses that is often underappreciated is that many of the most famous gowns ever made often become highly influential and inspire countless other designs as well.

Whilst difficult to quantify, here are three candidates for the most influential wedding dress of the last century, which can be seen in bridal styles that are popular today.

Audrey Hepburn

Never one to confine herself to tradition, actress Audrey Hepburn has managed to blaze a trail with all four of her wedding dresses, one of which she never wore down the aisle and one she wore for the film Funny Face in 1957.

Her greatest wedding look, however, was her Givenchy pink mini-dress and headscarf, which could not have been more iconoclastic if it tried. It was a contemporary silhouette, had a very high hemline compared to the floor-length gowns we are used to, featured a headscarf instead of a veil and was in pink.

All of these aspects have helped open out wedding design and given brides far more options, and many aspects of this design were used in the otherwise more conventional dress worn by Meghan Markle.

Princess Grace of Monaco

When Grace Kelly, one of the most famous actresses of her day, married Prince Rainier III of Monaco, it was one of the most viewed televised weddings ever, and her silk taffeta and Brussels lace gown became one of the most copied designs ever.

Most famously, Princess Catherine of Wales wore a very similar design when she married Prince William.

Princess Diana

Given that the People’s Princess was one of the biggest style icons of the 1980s and 1990s, it is perhaps no surprise that the huge ivory taffeta dress would become one of the most famous gowns of the 20th century and would spark a trend in huge ostentatious dresses.