Norman Hartnell (1901-1979) is well known for his designs for H.M. Queen Elizabeth II, and was the designer of her wedding dress in 1947 and her coronation robes in 1953. He produced two couture collections a year from his salon in Bruton Street from 1924, and dressed various British royal clients from 1935 to 1979. He also designed ready-to-wear collections and licensed perfumes, lingerie and costume jewellery bearing his name and made by franchises around the world.

The V&A has an extensive collection of Hartnell garments, including day wear, evening gowns and wedding dresses, many of which feature the various types of floral decoration which characterised his evening dresses. This dress is a variation from Hartnell's typical style, as a sheath dress, as opposed to the full-skirted crinoline style he usually created for royal and aristocratic clients. The embroidery, representing seaweed, coral and shells, spreads asymmetrically down from the bodice, and is an unusual departure from Hartnell’s more typical formalised, regular designs.

The dress was worn by Lady Zia Wernher, Countess Anastasia Mikhailovna de Torby, CBE (1892-1977), the elder daughter of Grand Duke Michael Mikhailovich of Russia, a grandson of Tsar Nicholas I of Russia, by Countess Sophie of Merenberg. Countess Anastasia de Torby married British Major-General Sir Harold Wernher, 3rd Bt on 20 July 1917. They lived at Luton Hoo, Bedfordshire. The dress is thought to have been worn to the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II in 1953 but further research is needed to confirm this association.