Celebrity dresses continue to dominate the movie memorabilia markets in 2011's final quarter. The latest big sale is Audrey Hepburn's dress, worn to collect an Oscar for her role in the 1954 classic film 'Roman Holiday'.
It was sold by Kerry Taylor auctions for £84,000 ($131,292) on November 29.
According to Kerry Taylor, the Oscar dress was sold to an Asian overseas private collector. Further evidence of Asia's growing love for collectible assets of all kinds.
Hepburn fans will recognise the Edith Head-designed dress from the final scene of 'Roman Holiday'. It auctioned with a matching jacket and hat.
 Audrey Hepburn's dress, worn to collect an Oscar for her role in 'Roman Holiday' |
Later, when it came to the annual Oscar ceremony, Audrey decided to wear the outfit again - a style decision many of today's media-conscious stars wouldn't dare to make. Hepburn altered the bodice to a more Givenchy inspired style for the awards.
In terms of the item's provenance, numerous photographs exist showing Audrey wearing this dress at the Oscars. But nobody knew what happened to the dress after that...
It later transpired that, in a typically down-to-earth fashion, Audrey gave the dress to her mother Ella van Heemstra. Ella then gave it to a friend living in America where she had gone to stay.
According to Audrey's mother, Audrey always referred to this gown as her "Lucky Dress".
The celebrity clothing memorabilia of both men and women are popular
among collectors - including this rare jumper currently for sale worn by a famous Pop Artist... Click here to find out who...
'Passion for Fashion' was the name and game of Kerry Taylor's November 29 sale. In the end, the London auction proven highly successful, totalling more than £590,000.
This is well above the predicted top estimate for the sale. Bidders were reportedly attracted from across the world.
Other successes in Kerry Taylor's auction included the iconic dress worn by Amy Winehouse on the cover of her classic "Back to Black" LP sell for £43,200 ($67,208).
That dress quadrupled its pre-sale estimate.
According to the auctioneer, the dress was bought by Fundacion Museo De La Moda in Chile. This followed competition between several phone bidders and a bidder in the room.
