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For Immediate Release
26 July 2006
Contact: Zoë Schoon 020.7752.3121
[email protected]
Iconic dress from Breakfast At Tiffany’s goes under
the hammer for charity At Christie’s South Kensington
Black dress by Hubert de Givenchy, Breakfast at Tiffany’s 1961
Estimate: £50,000-70,000
Film and Entertainment
Tuesday 5 December, 2pm
Christie’s South Kensington
South Kensington – Christie’s is proud to announce a rare opportunity to own an
iconic piece of cinematic history. Leading this year’s Film and Entertainment sale
at Christie’s South Kensington on 5th December is a sleek black Givenchy dress made
for Audrey Hepburn in the much-loved 1961 classic film, Breakfast at Tiffany’s. This
infamous dress, which immediately became an example of timeless refinement and
elegance, has an estimate of £50,000-70,000 and is being auctioned on behalf of the
charity City of Joy Aid, which benefits the under-privileged in India.
The dress was personally donated to the current owners, Monsieur and Madame Lapierre
by Hubert de Givenchy, who designed Audrey Hepburn’s wardrobe for the film. The
opening sequence became one of the most powerful images from the film, as Hepburn
emerged from a cab onto a deserted early morning 5th Avenue – a glamorous, gamine
figure in an elegant black dress, peering wistfully into the window of Tiffany’s and eating
her breakfast from a brown paper bag. It was this appearance as Holly Golightly that
sealed Audrey Hepburn’s international fame and the success of the film has been
timeless, watched again and again by millions. This year marks the 45th anniversary of
the film, and a special DVD has been released to commemorate it.
City of Joy Aid’s founders Monsieur and Madame Lapierre will donate the proceeds of
the sale to their organisation. Based in Calcutta, City of Joy Aid was set up by the
Lapierres in 1981, following a meeting with Mother Theresa. It is dedicated to helping
the poorest of the poor through a network of clinics, schools, rehabilitation centres and
hospital boats. The Lapierres personally absorb all overhead expenses and, relying totally
on donations, have supported the work of over 1,000 social workers, doctors, nurses,
physical therapists and educators. They have contributed to the rescue, shelter and
rehabilitation of over 4 million patients suffering from tuberculosis, cholera, leprosy and
other diseases which exist under the shadow of poverty. It is hoped that the sale of the
dress will not only raise public awareness of the charity, but also to realize one of the
Lapierres’ main priorities; to establish a trust to provide an annual revenue to continue to
help them make a big difference to thousands of lives.
Audrey Hepburn was born Audrey Kathleen Hepburn-Ruston in Brussels, Belgium on
4th May 1929. Daughter of Joseph Hepburn-Ruston, a British Banker and Ella van
Heemstra, a Dutch Baroness, she was educated in the UK and trained in dance by the
infamous Marie Rambert, who also trained Vaslav Nijinski. She made her stage debut as
a chorus girl in 1948, in High Button Shoes at London’s Hippodrome. She was awarded
an Oscar for “Best Actress in a leading role” for her performance in Roman Holiday in
1953 and it was during this year that she began a lifelong friendship with Hubert de
Givenchy. In her later life, she became known for her humanitarian work, becoming
Unicef’s Goodwill Ambassador in 1988. Following Audrey’s death in 1993, The Audrey
Hepburn Childrens’ Fun in Los Angeles was set up to continue her work.
Notes to Editors:
Public Viewing Days:
Saturday 2 December through to Tuesday 5 December
Public Auction:
Christie’s South Kensington, Wednesday 14 December 2004 at 2pm
85 Old Brompton Road
London SW7 3LD
Public Enquiries: 020 7930 6074 / www.christies.com
Opening hours at Christie’s South Kensington:
• Monday 9am – 7.30pm
• Tuesday to Friday 9am to 5pm
• Saturday and Sunday 10am to 4pm
Christie’s South Kensington is the first international auction house in London to offer
regular weekend auctions.
Film and Entertainment Memorabilia at Christie’s
In the last two decades, Christie's has sold memorabilia ranging from Bette Davis'
Academy Award for Jezebel to the sled from Citizen Kane. Most recently in June 2005,
Christie’s New York auctioned The Personal Property of Marlon Brando which totaled
$2,378,300 and set a new world auction record for any film script with Marlon Brando’s
working script for The Godfather, 1972 which sold for $312,800. Exceptional prices have
included $666,000 for Dorothy's Ruby Slippers from The Wizard of Oz film and
$1,267,500 for Marilyn Monroe's "Happy Birthday Mr. President" Dress. Christie's holds
annual entertainment memorabilia sales in South Kensington, London and New York.
Audrey Hepburn. I have a big Breakfast at Tiffany's poster in my room. I thing my fav film of hers is My Fair Lady. I'm a big fan of musicals and she did such an amazing job in that movie. 