General Discussion

A member sent us a link to the famous Audrey Hepburn "Sabrina" dress that's coming up for auction.

Look at this gown's extraordinary embroidery!

This gown is an excellent example of the collaboration between Hollywood and haute couture.

But this dress can also represent pain and scandal within the costume and fashion world. Sabrina's director, Billy Wilder, sent Audrey to Paris. Audrey was able to meet the up-and-coming designer Hubert de Givenchy, because he thought he was meeting with Katharine Hepburn. Shocked that he met Audrey instead, Givenchy told her that he couldn’t design a new piece for her, but he allowed her to select some sketches from his existing collection.

This was the beginning of a lifelong collaboration between the Audrey and Givenchy.

Audrey brought the sketches back to Paramount's costume supervisor, and wanting to please Audrey, Edith designed for her specifications and specific French couture taste. Edith added her own ideas, like the embroidery, which Edith claimed was a pre-embroidered fabric. (If you look closely, it does look pre-embroidered, and it does not look embroidered by hand).

However, the gown’s creation credits sparked wild debate when the movie became a phenomal success and was nominated for six Academy Awards, with Edith Head winning for Best Costume Design. Audrey was upset that Givenchy wasn't credited. To this day, Givenchy/Audrey fans are adamant that this dress is a Givenchy, and that Edith Head's Academy Award was given to her unfairly. This rumor hurt Edith's reputation and pride. Until the end of Edith's life, she insisted that the dress was a Paramount Studio made gown, not a Givenchy.

No one could verify who really made the dress. Until the dress came up for auction several years ago. The dress had been part of the Debbie Reynolds’ collection, and no one else had access to the dress to verify if it was an Edith Head or a Givenchy.

Finally, when the dress came up for auction, the public could finally learn the truth.

Drumroll please....

The interior of the dress and train features the "Paramount Pictures Inc. Ladies Wardrobe" stamp in yellow.

Are you surprised?

The previous seller also said that the seams inside were left large and unfinished. This dress was not made to haute couture standards, but more of the standards for costume and film, since the costume department must be able to quickly and easily size up or down for the actress.

Do you feel Edith Head had been thrown under the bus all these years? Do you feel her Academy Award was deserved after all? Or perhaps, can we call this a Givenchy/Head collaboration in the end?