7 of the most iconic revenge dresses

From Princess Diana’s iconic LBD to Miley Cyrus’ gilded YSL, the post-breakup dress really does say it all.

8 PHOTOS

1. When Princess Diana stepped out in that LBD mere hours before her ex-husband would publicly confess to his adultery, she became the face of a sartorial phenomenon that had long existed in the wardrobes of women everywhere. All plunging neckline and slitted up-to-there, Diana’s Christina Stambolian number broke royal dress codes and stirred the ravenous British press into a frenzy; the tabloids gave the look a name: “the revenge dress.” 

To make an analogy, the revenge dress is the breakup anthem of wardrobe options. Always worn in the wake of a recent split, the revenge dress says, “You could have had a bad girl by your side”; it says, “Thank you, next”; and, in the case of revenge dress proponent Miley Cyrus, it says, “I can love me better than you can.” Dark, devastating, and, oftentimes, more than a little revealing, the revenge dress telegraphs: “I’m hot, I’m fabulous and I’m living my best life without you.” From Diana’s eternal LBD to Miley’s gilded YSL gown, we look back at some of the most iconic revenge dresses of all time.

1. Princess Diana, 1994

This is it, the dress that started it all. Nearly three decades since it first graced tabloids, Diana’s plunging LBD remains the most iconic revenge dress of all time. Diana and ex-husband Prince Charles had been divorced for nearly three years when she stepped out in this devastating Christina Stambolian number at a 1994 Vanity Fair party. The moment coincided, almost down to the hour, with the broadcast of Charles’ tell-all documentary, in which he would confess to his rumored affair with Camilla Shand. Naturally, the look stirred up a frenzy within the gossip-hungry British press, who gave the look a name: “the revenge dress.” The rest is fashion history.

2. Mariah Carey, 1997 

Months after her separation from controlling ex-husband and Columbia Records head Tommy Mottola, Mariah Carey stepped out at the VMAs in this stunning, thigh-bearing two-piece. Speaking about the control Mottola leveraged over her career and image, the singer told Cosmo in 2019, “There was a conscious effort to keep me as this all-American, whatever that means, girl. It was very ­controlled. There was no ­freedom for me as a human being.” The look marked not only her split with Tommy but a new and empowered era of dressing for the pop star. Now, Mariah was in charge of her own image: out were the girlish cardigans and mom jeans, and in were the leather bustiers, micro miniskirts, and slinky Versace dresses that would make her a 90s fashion icon.

3. Elizabeth Hurley, 2000 

From Versace, safe pins to the house’s glittering chainmail, actress Elizabeth Hurley is no stranger to a jaw-dropping red carpet moment. And her revenge look, this plunging Valentino gown, was no less stunning. While the look might not meet all the necessary criteria for a revenge dress (Liz and Hugh split amicably and have remained friends since), it’s just too stunning to discount.

4. Bella Hadid, 2017

What do you wear when you know you’ll be running into your ex and his new girlfriend for the first time? If you’re Bella Hadid: a sheer catsuit. Months after splitting with longtime boyfriend The Weeknd, Bella took to the Met Gala red carpet, where she’d be seeing her ex and new girlfriend Selena Gomez, in one of her most daring looks to date. Designed by friend Alexander Wang, this mesh catsuit featured dazzling beadwork and the lowest of low backs. "If there's any event that you're going to be daring at, it's the Met," Bella told Harper’s Bazaar of the statement-making look.

5. Zoë Kravitz, 2021 

Today, the naked dress seems the obvious choice when it comes to revenge dressing. And that’s exactly what actress Zoë Kravitz donned to the 2021 Met Gala, mere weeks after the finalization of her divorce from ex Karl Gusman. The actress accessorized the diamante chainmail gown with a matching thong and some arm candy: her new beau Channing Tatum.

6. Julia Fox, 2022 

Sometimes a dress merely plays a role in a larger revenge moment. The day after her breakup with Kanye West, Julia Fox made her NYFW runway debut at Laquan Smith’s AW22 show. The moment, bolstered by the devastating cut-out dress she donned, cemented Julia’s status as one of the decade’s foremost fashion icons on her own terms and without any affiliation with the disgraced rapper, thank you very much!

7. Miley Cyrus, 2023

From love nest villas to repurposed tuxedos, much has been speculated over Miley Cyrus’ recent breakup anthem “Flowers,” which, fans allege, was written about the singer’s ex-husband Liam Hemsworth. Although many such theories have amounted to pure fabrication, there’s absolutely no doubt that Miley served up some serious revenge looks in the single’s accompanying video. In the clip, Miley shimmies through the Hollywood Hills in a gilded YSL gown, crooning, “I can take myself dancing and I can hold my own hand. I can love me better than you can.” The look, the song, the moment: the whole of it is cool, sexy, the epitome of unbothered. And if that all doesn’t capture the essence of the revenge dress, then I don’t know what does.