How Geri Halliwell's Union Jack Dress Inspired a Generation of Pop Stars and Patriotism
The dress, featuring the Union Jack flag, is tied to the United Kingdom's history. Originating in 1606 as the flag that represented both England and Scotland, the design was reimagined in 1801 as the current red, white and blue symbol, with the addition of the St. Patrick's Saltire.
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In the 1970s, the Union Jack was incorporated as a style motif for several British punk bands. The design was used through sartorial messaging, a subversion of the flag. In the late '90s, however, Halliwell's fashion statement repurposed the Union Jack symbol.
Halliwell (also known as 'Ginger Spice') wore her Union Jack minidress at the 1997 Brit Awards, where the Spice Girls performed.
'There's different layers to this story,' Halliwell told Drew Barrymore on the actress' eponymous daytime talk show in April 2025. 'There's a flag; that, for me, was taught by America. You guys taught me about being proud, being patriotic about your country. At the time, it was the Brits and I thought, 'I really want to celebrate being British,'' Halliwell recalled. 'I remember [my] stylist at the time said, 'No, no, no. Be more modest.' So I went, 'No, absolutely not.''
Halliwell explained to Barrymore that the original dress was actually a 'black Gucci stretchy dress' that had been gifted to her. 'It's really corseted. It's like an old swimming costume…like a '50s swimming costume.' Halliwell stitched a tea towel with the Union Jack on top of the Gucci dress. 'I'm not very good at stitching but I'm good at the idea,' Halliwell confessed. Halliwell's sister helped sew the tea towel onto the dress.
What happened to Geri Halliwell's Union Jack dress?
Halliwell's Union Jack dress was sold at auction by Sotheby's in September 1998 to Hard Rock Café cofounder Peter Morton for roughly $70,000, as reported by the BBC. The auction served to raise funds for the Sargent Cancer Care for Children.
In 2007, designer Roberto Cavalli made a new version for Halliwell to wear during the Spice Girls reunion tour, designed to resemble the original but with rhinestones and Swarovski crystals. In 2012, Halliwell designed a clothing line inspired by the dress, which she revisited again for the 2019 Spice World tour.
The Union Jack dress in pop culture
Decades after Halliwell popularized the Union Jack dress, pop stars are still inspired by her fashion statement. Dua Lipa added a Union Jack kilt skirt by Vivienne Westwood, featuring pleating and a punk style aesthetic, to her performance attire at the 2021 Brit Awards, paying homage to Halliwell's iconic sartorial moment at the awards show from more than 20 years prior.
Taylor Swift wore a Union Jack-inspired ensemble when she performed at the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show in 2013. Rita Ora also wore a Union Jack-inspired look for her performance at the Fashion Rocks 2014 event in New York City.
The Union Jack dress on the runway
The Union Jack also made its way onto the runway. Before Halliwell's Union Jack minidress moment in 1997, Kate Moss modeled a jacket inspired by the flag as part of John Galliano's 'Olivia the Filibuster' spring 1993 ready-to-wear collection.
A Union Jack minidress, among other designs, was also featured as part of Jean Paul Gaultier's Paris Fashion Week fall 2014 ready-to-wear collection show in March 2014, harkening back to the punk style sensibility and subversion of the '70s.
'The overall takeaway: Austin Powers meets Sid Vicious. A disconnect, yes, but perhaps deliberately so. After all, one of the few places the two could coexist would be on a fictional space odyssey with JPG as pilot,' an excerpt from WWD's review of the collection read.
Ashish's fall 2011 fashion show also featured a Union Jack sweater vest.
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