Since the beginning of Hollywood, Designers have been inspired to create beautiful collections and designs by actors and actresses, often forming longterm relationships with their muses. One of theses early famed collaborations was between Audrey Hepburn and Hubert de Givenchy. Over the years, Givenchy designed many of the costumes Hepburn appeared in on the silver screen, as well as a large portion of her personal wardrobe. The two worked together closely on Hepburn's film projects; the actress always championing his designs for her characters. In her personal wardrobe, Hepburn described Givenchy's designs as an "armour that she felt most like herself wearing".
One of Givenchy's many iconic designs for Hepburn has just gone on auction at Julien's with an estimate to be sold for between $200-300,000 USD. The designer's hot pink dress from Breakfast at Tiffany's (pictured bellow) will be hitting the auction scene and is largely considered his second most iconic design after the little black dress from the same movie. With tensions high over Hollywood's fashion artifacts after Ripley allowed Kim Kardashian to wear Marilyn Monroes's 'Happy Birthday Mr. President' dress, the watch is on for who will buy and take over guardianship of this piece of fashion history.
Our collective memory of the past is often preserved in visual iconography. Fashion provides a potent tool for cementing an image in the minds of generations to come. Naturally, this makes the clothing that has defined the image of an era or historic event incredibly valuable socially and economically. This begs the question, how do we ensure the preservation of our collective visual memory for years to come?