Auction frenzy over Hepburn dress

Audrey Hepburn in Breakfast at Tiffany's
Hepburn won an Oscar nomination for Breakfast at Tiffany's

The auction bidding
A black Givenchy dress made for Audrey Hepburn for her role in Breakfast at Tiffany's has sold for £467,200 at a London auction.

Gasps, laughter and applause were heard at Christie's auction house as bids for the black sleeveless gown exceeded the expected price of £70,000.

The winning sum was paid by an anonymous telephone bidder.

Proceeds from the sale go to the City of Joy Aid charity, which was set up by French author Dominique Lapierre.

"There are tears in my eyes" said Lapierre, who was given the dress by designer Hubert de Givenchy.

"I am absolutely dumbfounded to believe that a piece of cloth which belonged to such a magical actress will now enable me to buy bricks and cement to put the most destitute children in the world into schools."

The dress was one of three made for Hepburn for one of her best-known roles, as eccentric Manhattan socialite Holly Golightly in the 1961 film adaptation of Truman Capote's novel.

This version of the dress is not the same as the one worn by Hepburn in the film's opening scene which sees Golightly emerging from a taxi on Fifth Avenue.

According to Christie's, a second version of the dress remains in the Givenchy archives in Paris, while a third is in the Museum of Costume in Madrid.

The winning bidder paid £410,000 to win the garment, with the rest of the sale price made up of buyer's fees.

A dress worn by Marilyn Monroe to sing Happy Birthday to President Kennedy fetched $1.15m (£583,000) in 1999.



<3 Pro