Six Dresses That Made History at the Monaco Red Cross Ball

Since 1948, the Monaco Red Cross Ball has been the place where the Grimaldi family and the world's elite gather once a year - ostensibly for charity, in reality to see who is wearing what. Lionel Richie, Karl Lagerfeld, Juan Carlos I and Elizabeth Taylor have all passed through that hall. And six dresses from it went down in history.

Grace Kelly (1976)

The former Hollywood star, by then already the wife of Rainier III, appeared at 47 in a lavish red gauze gown with a built-in cape and a diamond necklace in art-deco style. It is one of the first surviving colour photographs of the Monegasque princess at this event - and probably the most elegant.

Caroline of Monaco (1974)

At just 17, Caroline wore a simple white dress with subtle embroidery. But the detail that defined the evening was not the dress - it was a large orchid in her hair and dramatic eye makeup with an electric-blue line. That was the very night her status as a fashion icon began to build.

Caroline of Monaco (2004)

Thirty years later, the same woman proved the opposite - that fashion is also what does not try. A minimalist black slip dress with gold jewellery, nothing more. Proof of the power of the slip dress: its timelessness.

Stephanie of Monaco (2004)

The “rebel princess” chose a dress with bold cut-outs and a deep neckline, partly baring her stomach - a direct challenge to the traditional codes of royal elegance. Stephanie was always the one who refused to play by the rules, and it suited her.

Charlene of Monaco (2018)

A haute-couture mermaid silhouette from Atelier Versace, in a blue gradient, fully embroidered with Swarovski crystals laid out like tiny scales. The design nodded to art-deco aesthetics and to “The Great Gatsby”, with marine motifs recalling her Olympic swimming career. When the jewellery and the cut tell a biography, it is no longer a dress - it is a statement.

Charlotte Casiraghi (2021)

A design in metallic fabric from the Chanel Resort 2021 collection, with pleats and a woven trim - an unusually short dress for such an occasion. Charlotte fused the elegance of her mother Caroline with the rebellion of her aunt Stephanie, and created something third. Three generations of Grimaldi in a single dress.