One of the most famous dresses in the world is in Edmonton as part of a new exhibit opening soon at West Edmonton Mall.

The wedding dress worn by Princess Diana is part of the exhibit Diana: A Celebration.

The exhibit is set to open at West Edmonton Mall on Saturday and the dress was taken out of its crate Wednesday morning in preparation for opening day.

“It’s the most famous wedding dress in the world,” said Nick Grossmark, exhibit curator, who travelled with the dress and helped take it out of its crate on Wednesday.

“It was worn by a person who became one of the most important women in the world.”

The 7,000-square foot exhibit chronicles the life and work of Diana, Princess of Wales, and will feature 150 objects throughout nine galleries, with her wedding dress as the star of the show.

“It never fails to disappoint in terms of people’s reactions,” Grossmark said.

Exhibit curator Graeme Murton says the dress features a 25-foot-long train and is a magical sight to see up close.

“It’s a fairy tale princess dress,” Murton said.

“When you come to the exhibition, you’re very lucky that you actually see the royal train completely laid out in the case.”
 

Did you know?:

  • Diana's wedding dress has the longest train for a royal wedding dress in history.
  • The dress is made of six different fabrics including 25 yards of silk taffeta, 100 yards of tulle crinoline and 150 yards of netting for the veil.
  • A tiny horseshoe in 18-karat-gold and studded with white diamonds – considered a good luck token - was sewn into the dress.
  • The dress is hand-embroidered with more than 10,000 tiny mother-of-pearl sequins and pearls.

Visitors to the exhibit will get also get a chance to see family heirlooms, personal mementos, paintings, rare home movies and photos.

“The exhibition itself is we’re trying to tell a story here of a very, very special person,” Grossmark said.

“There’s information here that possibly people wouldn’t have known about… We’ve never had a royal in our country that had been quite so forthright in her beliefs with what she wants to do.”

Diana: A Celebration, opens Feb. 9 and runs until June 9 on Level Two, Phase 1, of the mall.

The Edmonton stop is one of just two Canadian stops to feature the exhibit since it began in 1998.

General admission ranges from $14.70 to $23.10 a ticket.

Click here for more information.

Princess Diana died in a car crash in Paris on Aug. 31, 1997 at the age of 36.