Kim purchased the Atallah Cross last year, and until now had yet to wear it publicly.
In January 2023, Kim Kardashian purchased Princess Diana’s famed “Attallah Cross” necklace at auction, and in the nearly two years since, she had yet to wear the piece of jewelry publicly.
However, to celebrate Kardashian’s birthday earlier this week, Lexy Roche, the Image Director at Maison Margiela, shared a never-before-seen photo. In the image, Kardashian wears a black and purple tulle gown—and notably, she accessorizes with the famed cross pendant. It also marks the first time Kardashian has been seen wearing the necklace:
lexyroche/Instagram
Princess Diana famously wore the bejeweled cross, called the “Attallah Cross,” in October 1987 with a Catherine Walker dress to a charity gala. The gold, silver, diamond and amethyst pendant was named for Naim Attallah, who owned it and lent it to Diana on numerous occasions. “Few people could carry this piece off but Diana really could,” his son, Ramsay Attallah, said before the auction. “When I was growing up, we’d always have it on the table for Christmas lunch, but it was never worn by anyone other than Diana and it hasn’t been seen in public since she died.”
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Diana in 1987.
The cross “demonstrated how Princess Diana wore her jewelry with a mix of reverence and playfulness, and more than a nod to fashion as we saw in her mischievous way of wearing both precious and costume jewelry,” author and jewelry historian Vivienne Becker told Vogue. “The size and impact of this cross, worn unusually on a long necklace, also hints at Madonna’s 1980s style, and at star quality. Added to this, the amethysts make reference to royalty—amethysts were traditionally associated with both clergy and with royalty.”
It’s unclear what event Kardashian was trying the cross on for—possibly the 2024 Met Gala, where she wore a custom Maison Margiela Artisanal by John Galliano gown. We’ll just have to keep waiting to see if she will wear the cross in public.