Clothes worn by actress Audrey Hepburn are displayed at Sotheby's auction house in Paris December 1, 2009 prior to the auction organised by Sotheby's and Kerry Taylor Auctions which will be held in London on December 8, 2009.
Dozens of garments and personal effects once belonging to the gorgeous, charming deceased movie star Audrey Hepburn will be auctioned in London next week, according to media reports Wednesday.
A preview of the collection will open at Sotheby's in Paris before the Dec. 8 sale in London.
"For her, what was important was not decoration and lots of embellishment. She liked very simple things — less was always more for Audrey," said auctioneer Kerry Taylor, whose eponymous auction house is handling the sale.
Star lots include an Yves Saint Laurent empire waisted gown in white cotton that she wore to her son Luca's 1970 christening, estimated at 1,500-2,500 pounds (2,485-4,141 U.S. dollars), and an abbreviated, long-sleeve Valentino Haute Couture dress in ivory silk and lace that's identical to the one worn by Jacqueline Kennedy at her 1968 wedding to Aristotle Onassis.
A dress worn by actress Audrey Hepburn is displayed at a press preview of the Tanja Star-Busman collection of Hepburn memorabilia at Sotheby's in New York November 20, 2009.
A Givenchy black lace dress that Hepburn wore in "How to Steal a Million" and a demure ivory wedding gown that never made it down the aisle are among the items.
It is worth notice that the famous Givenchy black dress: pared-down cocktail dresses, buttery silk tops, ladylike coats and dramatic sweeping gowns made by the legendary French couturier, who regarded Hepburn as his muse.
"She said of Hubert de Givenchy that he was her greatest friend and he said of her that it was a real romance between the two, a real love affair that lasted all their lives," Taylor said at Sotheby's Paris showroom, where the two-day-long preview was held.
Most of the lots come from the closets of Tanja Star-Busmann, a longtime friend of the actress. The two met in London when Tanja was 15 years old and Hepburn 20 — just before her career took off.
"I was perhaps her first unofficial fan — writing letters to her from boarding school and receiving replies," Star-Busmann, who is now in her 70s, wrote in the auction catalog.
Highlights are on display at Sotheby's in Paris through Wednesday. Half the proceeds from the sale are to go to the Audrey Hepburn Children's Fund and UNICEF.
A Givenchy Haute Couture Turquoise silk gown that Audrey Hepburn wore in the 1967 film 'Two For The Road' is exhibited amongst dozens of garments and personal items once belonging to the Hollywood star, in Paris, Tuesday Dec. 1, 2009, prior to a auction in London on Dec. 8.
