By . Deborah Arthurs . PUBLISHED: . 06:53 EST, 8 May 2012 . | . UPDATED: . 09:02 EST, 8 May 2012 . One of Diana, Princess of Wales's favourite dresses is to go on show as part of a glittering display of ballgowns at the V&A. The South Kensington museum is set to unveil the new exhibition, charting six decades of lavish British style, later this month. Ballgowns: British Glamour Since 1950 will feature more than sixty designs created for glittering social events over the past 60 years, from all sorts of events, taking in private parties, Royal balls, state occasions and star-studded premieres. History: Diana dubbed this Catherine Walker dress the 'Elvis'. Studded with 20,000 pearls, Diana loved it so much that she wore it on a tour of Hong Kong in 1989, then shortly afterwards to the British Fashion Awards . The exhibition, to be located in the V&A's newly renovated Fashion Galleries, is a stunning display of . beautiful ballgowns worn by Royal debutantes, show-stopping red carpet . dresses that sparked a thousand flashbulbs, and high fashion catwalk . creations. Eveningwear comes from designers past . and present, and is set to include pieces from the archives of . Catherine Walker, Hardy Amies, Victor Stiebel and Zanda Rhodes. Visitors will be able to see a pink silk . gown from The House Of Worth, a couture house established in Paris in . 1858 by Charles Frederick Worth, and considered to be the original and . founding couture house. The company, who also had the offshoot . Worth London, created refined garments for a mainly English clientele . for the London social season, with subtle shades of champagne and rose . their trademark. Ballgowns . through the ages: V&A show British style as it has changed over six decades, with a contemporary PVC lace design from Atsuko Kudo with 50s styles from Worth of London, rear left, and Hardy Amies, right . Elsewhere, there is work . from Jonathan Saunders and Hussein Chalayan, and fresh from the catwalks . will be works from the breathtaking collections of Alexander McQueen, Giles Deacon, Erdem and Jenny Packham. A selection of royal ballgowns will . be on display, including the white pearl-studded gown designed by . Catherine Walker for Diana, Princess of Wales. Diana dubbed the garment, . studded with 20,000 pearls, the 'Elvis Dress', thanks to the fact it . was inspired by the late singer's stage costumes. She loved the dress so much that she . wore it twice, once on an official tour of Hong Kong in 1989, and . shortly afterwards to the British Fashion Awards in London. Elsewhere in the royal collection is a . Norman Hartnell gown designed for Elizabeth the Queen Mother, and gowns . worn by today’s young royals. Ballgowns: British Glamour Since 1950 . will also include dresses worn by actresses and celebrities including . Elizabeth Hurley, Bianca Jagger and Sandra Bullock, and a stunning . metallic leather dress created especially for the exhibition by . innovative designer Gareth Pugh. Lavish creation: An Alexander McQueen catwalk dress, as worn by Daphne Guinness . A Nicholas Oakwell  haute couture gown from the designer's 2011 collection will be on show at the V&A, while right, a Roksanda Ilincic design from 2009 will also be on display . Contemporary glamour: A stunning couture dress designed by Giles Deacon, modelled here by Coco Rocha, forms part of the modern side to the collection . Founders: A 1955 Worth London dress in pink silk with crystal embellishment, dating from the time when Owen Hyde-Clark was chief designer. Cut as a circle, the piece would have needed many petticoats for full effect. RIGHT, a 1986 gown from couturier Victor Edelstein . Intricate: Silk satin and beaded Rumina gown by London Fashion Week catwalk star Erdem, A/W 2008 .
V&A display includes pearl-studded Catherine Walker design worn by Diana on two occasions .
By . Deborah Arthurs . PUBLISHED: . 06:53 EST, 8 May 2012 . | . UPDATED: . 09:02 EST, 8 May 2012 . One of Diana, Princess of Wales's favourite dresses is to go on show as part of a glittering display of ballgowns at the V&A. The South Kensington museum is set to unveil the new exhibition, charting six decades of lavish British style, later this month. Ballgowns: British Glamour Since 1950 will feature more than sixty designs created for glittering social events over the past 60 years, from all sorts of events, taking in private parties, Royal balls, state occasions and star-studded premieres. History: Diana dubbed this Catherine Walker dress the 'Elvis'. Studded with 20,000 pearls, Diana loved it so much that she wore it on a tour of Hong Kong in 1989, then shortly afterwards to the British Fashion Awards . The exhibition, to be located in the V&A's newly renovated Fashion Galleries, is a stunning display of . beautiful ballgowns worn by Royal debutantes, show-stopping red carpet . dresses that sparked a thousand flashbulbs, and high fashion catwalk . creations. Eveningwear comes from designers past . and present, and is set to include pieces from the archives of . Catherine Walker, Hardy Amies, Victor Stiebel and Zanda Rhodes. Visitors will be able to see a pink silk . gown from The House Of Worth, a couture house established in Paris in . 1858 by Charles Frederick Worth, and considered to be the original and . founding couture house. The company, who also had the offshoot . Worth London, created refined garments for a mainly English clientele . for the London social season, with subtle shades of champagne and rose . their trademark. Ballgowns . through the ages: V&A show British style as it has changed over six decades, with a contemporary PVC lace design from Atsuko Kudo with 50s styles from Worth of London, rear left, and Hardy Amies, right . Elsewhere, there is work . from Jonathan Saunders and Hussein Chalayan, and fresh from the catwalks . will be works from the breathtaking collections of Alexander McQueen, Giles Deacon, Erdem and Jenny Packham. A selection of royal ballgowns will . be on display, including the white pearl-studded gown designed by . Catherine Walker for Diana, Princess of Wales. Diana dubbed the garment, . studded with 20,000 pearls, the 'Elvis Dress', thanks to the fact it . was inspired by the late singer's stage costumes. She loved the dress so much that she . wore it twice, once on an official tour of Hong Kong in 1989, and . shortly afterwards to the British Fashion Awards in London. Elsewhere in the royal collection is a . Norman Hartnell gown designed for Elizabeth the Queen Mother, and gowns . worn by today’s young royals. Ballgowns: British Glamour Since 1950 . will also include dresses worn by actresses and celebrities including . Elizabeth Hurley, Bianca Jagger and Sandra Bullock, and a stunning . metallic leather dress created especially for the exhibition by . innovative designer Gareth Pugh. Lavish creation: An Alexander McQueen catwalk dress, as worn by Daphne Guinness . A Nicholas Oakwell  haute couture gown from the designer's 2011 collection will be on show at the V&A, while right, a Roksanda Ilincic design from 2009 will also be on display . Contemporary glamour: A stunning couture dress designed by Giles Deacon, modelled here by Coco Rocha, forms part of the modern side to the collection . Founders: A 1955 Worth London dress in pink silk with crystal embellishment, dating from the time when Owen Hyde-Clark was chief designer. Cut as a circle, the piece would have needed many petticoats for full effect. RIGHT, a 1986 gown from couturier Victor Edelstein . Intricate: Silk satin and beaded Rumina gown by London Fashion Week catwalk star Erdem, A/W 2008 .
on display, including the white pearl-studded gown designed by . Catherine Walker for Diana,