John Galliano recalls how Princess Diana 'ripped' corset out of iconic Met Gala dress

John Galliano has recalled how Diana, Princess of Wales "ripped" the corset out of the custom-made gown she wore to the 1996 Met Gala.

In an interview for docuseries In Vogue: The 90s, the fashion designer recounted how he was invited by the British royal to Kensington Palace in London in the lead-up to the annual event to create a bespoke number for her.

Galliano was creative director at Christian Dior at the time.

"It was like a blessing. I mean like, wow. We went to Kensington Palace and discussed drawings. I was trying to push for pink, but she was not having it. 'No, not the pink!' That was real, real fun," he remembered, according to People. "So, we did the dress and subsequent fittings, and it was beautifully done."

However, Galliano was stunned when he saw Diana step out at the Met Gala staged at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York in December 1996.

The princess wowed the crowd in a slinky navy blue silk slip dress with black lace trim and accessorised the look with a pearl-and-sapphire choker - making a serious fashion statement in the wake of her divorce from Prince Charles, now King Charles III.

"Fast-forward to the event, and I just remember her getting out of the car. I couldn't believe it. She'd ripped the corset out. She didn't want to wear the corset," the 63-year-old noted. "She felt so liberated. She'd torn the corset out. The dress was much more... sensuous. I mean, wow! Diana was my first couture client."

The 1996 Met Gala marked Diana's first and only appearance at the fashion spectacle as she tragically died at the age of 36 in a car crash in Paris in August 1997.

In Vogue: The '90s is now streaming via Hulu.