I got a sneak-peek at the new Kensington Palace fashion exhibition and these are the 10 must-see pieces

A pièce de resistance of the exhibition is the late Princess Diana's green velvet Catherine Walker tuxedo dress, worn for private events and her famous photoshoot with Maria Testino in 1997.

Two Liberty print floral dresses worn by Queen Elizabeth II and Princess Margaret when they were children are included in the display. Up-close, you can even see where the hemlines and seams have been altered to accommodate the princesses as they grew.

The late fashion designer wore this little black dress when she was made a Dame at Buckingham Palace in 2006.

Caterina Berni, Senior Interpretation Manager at HRP, revealed that Westwood's ensemble was inspired by archive pieces from the Royal Ceremonial Dress Collection.

"She's come to the palace, she knows she's got to follow the rules, but in classic Vivienne style, she takes it and makes it her own. Instead of feathers in her hair, she's wearing horns and a hat, which was inspired by Che Guevara," she tells HELLO!.

This striking two-piece was worn by the late Princess for the official naming ceremony of the 'Royal Princess' cruise liner in 1984. The scarlet jacket and skirt allowed her to stand out from the crowd, a style trick favoured by the late Queen Elizabeth II. But visitors will also be able to see the symbolic anchor detailing on the jacket's gold buttons up-close.

While Queen Victoria's crepe silk mourning bodice from 1870 is structured and understated to reflect the earlier years of her widowhood, there's a noticeable difference about the second garment of Victoria's, worn in 1897, which features layers of lace frills on the shoulders, hemline and waistband.

In contrast to Queen Victoria's black attire, the exhibition includes a delicate white and mauve lace gown worn by Queen Alexandra in around 1870, alongside a patterned Dolman cape. Caterina says of the dress: "She's showing she's really fashionable, but it is a half mourning dress. She's worn this to Royal Ascot after the death of her eldest son [Prince Albert Victor] and she wears half-mourning colours for the rest of her life as well. She wants to show the world that she's grieving, but in this beautiful, feminine, fashionable way."

A typical mourning period in the Victorian era was two years at its longest, with muted colours such as lilac, grey and lavender introduced when widows were in half-mourning.

The late Princess could be more experimental with her fashion than her sister, Elizabeth, who became heir to the throne at the age of ten. Margaret loved to covet new designers, and on a tour of the Philippines in 1980, she stepped out in this beautiful green embroidered dress by the legendary Filipino designer Jose Pitoy Moreno.

This pink ballgown, embroidered with 3D roses, is from 1958 and belonged to debutante Georgina Grattan-Bellew. Queen Charlotte founded the debutante ball in 1780, where young women from noble families were presented to the royal court as their formal introduction to society. The final ball took place at Buckingham Palace in 1958.

Dressing for work and ceremonial occasions has always come with its own strict dress codes, with many of the uniforms remaining the same for hundreds of years. Examples included in the exhibition include an extremely rare Japanese court suiting from the early 20^th century, featuring gold embroidered paulownia flowers.

The final room of the exhibition features some breath-taking designs created by the Young Producers - from a take on Diana's Tuxedo-dress adorned with gold cowrie shells to a Chanel-inspired interpretation of a mourning dress.