Union Jack dress

The Union Jack dress was an item of clothing worn by singer Geri Halliwell of the Spice Girls at the 1997 BRIT Awards. The mini dress featured a flag of the United Kingdom, the Union Jack, on the front, and a white peace symbol emblazoned on the black-coloured back of the dress. The next day the images of the dress made the front page of various newspapers around the world, and is now remembered as one of the most iconic pop moments of the 1990s and Brit Awards history. The dress has become synonymous with the Spice Girls, Halliwell and the notions of Girl Power and Cool Britannia.

According to The Daily Telegraph, the dress came top in an online poll to find the 10 most iconic dresses of the last 50 years, beating other memorable garments such as Marilyn Monroe's white 'Seven Year Itch' halterneck and the wedding dress of Princess Diana. In 2016, the dress was voted the "Most Inspiring British Fashion Moment" in an online poll conducted by British online retailer Very.

In 2010, the performance in the Union Jack dress won Most Memorable Performance of 30 Years at the Brit Awards. The dress held the Guinness World Record for the most expensive piece of popstar clothing dealt at auction when it was sold for £41,320 in 1998.

At the 1997 BRIT Awards the Spice Girls were scheduled to perform, as well as being nominated for five awards, two of which they won. The black Gucci mini dress which Halliwell was given to perform in concerned her, as she thought it was too "boring". Then Halliwell decided she wanted to "celebrate being British", so she asked her sister to stitch on a Union Jack tea towel to the front as a patriotic gesture. After Karen, her sister, had sewn on the tea towel, Geri decided to wear it whilst performing "Who Do You Think You Are" (with excerpts of "Wannabe" in) at the BRIT Awards on 24 February 1997.

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