By Anna Tomforde Dec 5, 2006, 18:44 GMT
London - Already having made cinematic history, Audrey Hepburn's little black dress from Breakfast at Tiffany's set a new world record when it was sold for a dazzling 467,200 pounds (924,588 dollars), including the buyer's premium, at auction house Christie's in London Tuesday.
Christie's employee Romilly Collins models the dress worn by Audrey Hepburn in the 1961 film 'Breakfast At Tiffany's' outside a cafe in west London July 26, 2006 file photo. The iconic black dress sold for 410,000 pounds on Tuesday, around seven times its pre-sale estimate. REUTERS/Toby Melville
The winning bidder paid 410,000 pounds for the garment, worn by Hepburn in one of her best-known roles as eccentric Manhattan socialite Holly Golightly in the 1961 adaptation of Truman Capote's novel.
The winning sum, exceeding its upper estimate of 70,000 pounds by more than six times, set a world record for a dress worn in a movie, Christie's said.
A dress worn by Marilyn Monroe to sing Happy Birthday to President Kennedy fetched 583,000 pounds in 1999.
There were gasps, tense laughter and applause in the packed auction room at Christie's when bidding passed the 400,000-pound mark.
Once 300,000 pounds had been topped, offers came in at dizzying speed.
But there was little time for bidders to catch their breath, as a 'gentleman in the room' upped the price to 405,000 pounds, only to be topped by the winning bidder over the telephone.
A model displaying an imitation of the famous dress, complete with pearls, but bare of the gamine charm and elegance of the Belgian- British actress, kept her composure throughout tense proceedings.
The dress, an iconic piece of cinematic history, was designed by Hubert de Givenchy, who became Hepburn's life-long friend in 1953.
He donated the dress to Dominic Lapierre, founder of the charity City of Joy Aid, which helps India's poor.
Lapierre, who set up the Calcutta-based charity after a meeting with Mother Theresa in 1981, said Tuesday he was moved by the sale.
'There are tears in my eyes. I am absolutely dumbfounded to believe that a piece of cloth which belonged to such a magical actress will now enable me to buy bricks and cement to put the most destitute children in the world into schools.'
Hepburn, who died in 1993, devoted much of her time in her later life to her role as Ambassador for UNICEF, the United Nations Children's Fund.
City of Joy Aid is supporting the work of more than 1,000 social workers, doctors, nurses, therapists and educators in India, helping more than four million sufferers of tuberculosis, cholera and leprosy.
In 2005, Christie's in London auctioned a dress by Hollywood star Judy Garland, which she wore as a 17-year-old in the film The Wizard of Oz, for 140,000 pounds.
In 2004, a cane used by Charlie Chaplin fetched nearly 48,000 pounds, while a Hitler moustache worn by Chaplin in The Great Dictator went under the hammer for 17,925 pounds.
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