Passion for Fashion & Fine Textiles including an Important Audrey Hepburn Collection
Auction: Tuesday 8th December 2009 at 2pm This auction includes two very different but important wardrobes those of the glamorous Marie Helvin and the legendary style icon – Audrey Hepburn.
Audrey Hepburn’s wardrobe is typified by simplicity and seemingly effortless elegance. Aided and abetted by the young couturier Hubert de Givenchy, she became the personification of chic elegance in the 1950s and 60s. Givenchy said of her “All the responsibility for the way Audrey looked is hers. She made the selections.” Audrey had a sense of her own unique, personal style. She preferred to wear pastel colours, black and ivory with the occasional hot-pink statement as evidenced by this collection. If she liked a particular gown she would often order it in both black and white (see lots 326, 331, 332). As one might expect the collection includes stunning evening-wear including a plethora of chic little black dresses by Valentino, Elizabeth Arden (she wore this gown when she met her first husband Mel Ferrer in 1953) and of course her favourite designer of all – Hubert de Givenchy. He created a black cloqué silk gown for Audrey to wear for the film “Paris When it Sizzles” in 1962), a sensational Chantilly lace cocktail gown which she wore in the “How to Steal a Million” in 1966 and myriad stylish little day dresses and suits. Lots 283-331 are from the collection of Tanja Star Busmann who became friends with Audrey when she was a schoolgirl of 15 and Audrey was 21. It was 1951 and Audrey had moved to London to pursue her dream of becoming a ballerina. Tanja was probably Audrey’s first official fan and they remained lifelong friends. When Audrey had finished with her clothes she often passed them to Tanja and even asked Monsieur de Givenchy to leave larger seam allowances for this purpose. Boxes would arrive at Tanja’s door filled with to the brim with haute couture ball gowns, day suits and accessories. Tanja described this as their `fabulous tradition’. Lot 333 is the ivory satin bridal gown designed for Audrey for her planned wedding to James Hanson in 1952 which never took place. It was designed by the Fontana sisters and Audrey went for fittings for the gown when she was filming Roman Holiday. It was Audrey’s wish that her dress should be “worn by another girl for her wedding, perhaps someone who couldn’t ever afford a dress like mine, the most beautiful poor Italian girl you can find”. It was given to Amabile Altobella who went on to have an extremely happy and long marriage. She has decided that it is time to pass it to another bride, rather than keep it stored in the box where it has remained for so many decades.
Marie Helvin was one of the first of the `Supermodels’- known for her style and personality both on and off the catwalk. Her exotic looks combined with a superb figure made her one of the pre-eminent catwalk and photographic models of her generation. During the 1970s and 80s Marie’s world was a mixture of high fashion and rock n’roll – Andy Warhol, Mick Jagger and Jerry Hall were especially close friends and Studio 54 was a favourite haunt. Marie’s wardrobe reflects that lifestyle with sexy evening wear by Bruce Oldfield, Rifat Ozbek, Belville Sassoon, Yves Saint Laurent and Ossie Clark. There are `body-con’ figure hugging numbers by Hervé Leger and Azzedine Alaïa and a flounced cloth of gold cocktail dress by the Emanuels which is literally dazzling! Many of the dresses are black – all of the dresses are sexy.
It has been a privilege to handle and research these wonderful gowns and I hope you enjoy seeing them too.
The sale as usual includes superb bags and accessories mainly by Chanel and Hermes, fashion sketches, important historic dress and haute couture.
Venue: La Galleria, 30 Royal Opera Arcade, Pall Mall, London SW1Y 4UY. Click here to view map.
IMPORTANT: Please do not attend the auction on December 8th unless you have serious intentions to bid as space is very limited.
London Exhibition, La Galleria:
Sunday 6th December 10am - 5pm Monday 7th December 9am - 5pm Tuesday 8th December 9am - 11am *Entrance to the London exhibition and the auction is by catalogue only. See below. These can be bought on arrival at the gallery on the above dates. *Please note that pushchairs, young children and pets will not be admitted to the exhibition.
Touring exhibition of Audrey Hepburn highlights:
Sotheby’s New York, 21st-22nd November, 10am-5pm
Address: 1334 York Avenue at 72nd St, New York 10021
Sotheby’s Paris, 1st-2nd December, 10am-6pm
Address:Galerie Charpentier, 76 rue du Faubourg Saint Honore, Paris 75008
A printed catalogue is available: £12 UK, £14 Europe and £15 rest of the world, including postage. £10 at the gallery. Please contact us to obtain a copy.
A digital edition of the catalogue can be viewed here
Contacts
Telephone: 00 44 (0) 208 676 4600
Fax: 00 44 (0) 203 137 0112
Email: info@kerrytaylorauctions.com
Bidding: If you have not bid with us before you will need to bring proof of I.D such as a driver’s licence or passport and proof of your address. You can attend the sale and bid in person.
* Commission bid - if you cannot personally attend you can leave your bid with us which the auctioneer will operate on your behalf. Bid slips can be downloaded from our website and faxed to us. You can also leave a commission bid by telephone if we have received proof of your I.D.
* Telephone bid - there is limited telephone bidding on the day of the sale. Please contact us as soon as possible to see if a line can be reserved.
* On-line bidding - if you wish to register to bid Live! on the day of the sale please click here to register with us. Alternatively, should you wish to leave an online Absentee Bid &/or to Bid Live!, you may also register with Invaluable by clicking here.
This sale is conducted according to our standard conditions of business (a copy of which can be viewed on our website) - with 20% buyer’s premium added to the hammer price of every lot. Payment can be made in pounds sterling, by cheque, by credit card or wire transfer. The following charges apply for payment by credit card:
* Amex – 2.6%
* Visa – 3%
* Amex and Mastercard (Europe) – 3.1%
* Mastercard (International) – 3.5%
Goods will only be released once cleared funds have been received which may mean waiting for a cheque to clear. Payment is due immediately after purchase.
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Wire transfers can be made to
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G2 2DH
Account number: 06607706
Sort code: 12-24-81
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If paying by bank transfer the amount received after either the deduction of bank fees or for the conversion to pounds sterling, must not be less than the sterling amount payable on the invoice.
Shipping and Collection
There is free storage for the first ten working days after the sale, after that storage charges will apply. Collections can be made Monday-Friday 9.30-5pm from our warehouse.
National and international shipping can be arranged on your behalf. Our assigned shipper is The Bullit Courier Company. Contact details: Email info@bullitcouriers.com; Telephone + 00 44 (0)845 226 8556; Fax + 00 44 (0) 8712 885105.
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Sale Contents: There are 335 lots in this sale
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