Throughout the 20-odd-year golden age of reality TV, a cheating scandal is nearly as inevitable as a public argument in an unsuspecting local eatery. In today’s reality TV environment, however, scandals, misdeeds, and disputes—and how these celebrities choose to handle them—have the potential to echo much further, thanks to social media and their various fan bases.
An intriguing PR tactic for managing these kinds of chaotic storylines comes in the now largely anticipated retaliation to any scandal: the revenge dress. It’s a subject that is once again near the forefront of enthusiasts’ minds due to the Bravo betrayal of the day by Summer House cast members Amanda Batula and Kyle Cooke amidst their respective relationships with West Wilson and Ciara Miller. And in part one of the Summer House reunion, which aired this week, Miller entered the stage in an illusion two-piece dress from fashion insider favorite Di Petsa’s spring 2026 collection that can only be labeled in contemporary terms as, well, a revenge dress. “Di Petsa is one of those designers that craft pieces that instantly make you feel self-assured and potent the second you slip them on,” Miller shares with Vogue. “For me, it was less about the dress itself and more about the feeling I had walking into the room—just feeling utterly self-assured in myself.”
The concept was originally named when Princess Diana donned a black cocktail dress, crafted by Christina Stambolian, during a highly public outing on the same night that King Charles admitted to adultery on national television in 1994. Now, the royal wasn’t a reality TV star per se, but she, the dress, and King Charles’s affair, were certainly the face of a rapidly evolving popular culture and media landscape, as demonstrated by the fact the dress now has its own Wikipedia page. Its form-fitting silhouette and off-the-shoulder design were, believe it or not, quite bold for its era, and, at the very least, were a significant departure from the modest traditions of royal attire. The notion of a revenge dress swiftly became a sartorial symbol of the kickoff of a new phase of life, and other famous instances followed suit, such as Mariah Carey’s sultry Calvin Klein two-piece outfit at the 1997 MTV Music Video Awards or Elizabeth Hurley’s plunging Valentino dress in 2000.
