evening dress

Hubert de Givenchy 1927

Summary

Fuchsia pink sleeveless evening gown, Givenchy haute couture, labelled and numbered '24038'. Linen/silk mix; turn down collar and revers; fastening full length centre front with waist ties and 4 large elaborate knot buttons; deep diagonal pockets to hips; fully lined. Belonged to, and worn by, Audrey Hepburn. Designed by Audrey Hepburn's favourite designer, Hubert de Givenchy, in its uncluttered vertical line, it exemplifies the 'chic' style of Audrey Hepburn (1929 - 1993). Audrey first became famous through 'Gigi', in which she starred on Broadway in 1951, and became internationally celebrated after 'Roman Holiday' in 1953. Throughout the sixites she starred in films, most famously in 'Breakfast at Tiffany's' (1961) and became one of the most highly paid film stars of her age. In December 2009, Tanja Star-Busmann sold many of the dresses that her friend and confidant, Audrey Hepburn, had given her, and this is one of the most stylish and least altered of those outfits. Tanja wrote at the time that Audrey had showered her with clothing gifts from 1951 onwards, and that 'over the years, a cavalcade of boxes filled to the brim with haute couture evening dresses, divine little cocktail ensembles, easy-to-wear silk 'at-home' supper dresses, sensible tweed coats, chic little day suits and glamorous dressing gowns, often accompanied by wonderful accessories, arrived…' A very similar Givenchy dress (in pale blue) numbered 24039) was lot 135 in the Christie's sale of Audrey Hepburn's personal collection on 27 Sept 2017 and is dated to the very early 1960s. The Met have a Givenchy numbered 24699 and dated to 1962. Purchased at auction in 2009 with generous donations from the Friends of Manchester Art Gallery and the MLA/V&A purchase fund.