Fashion Icon - Audrey Hepburn & Breakfast at Tiffany’s

The link between celebrity and fashion has been well established over the last few decades as many actors and musicians launch their own fashion lines. This was not always the case, although back in Hollywood’s heyday, there were exceptions. One of those exceptions, and an actress whose screen presence directly influenced fashion was Audrey Hepburn, star of Breakfast at Tiffany’s, Roman Holiday, and many more classic films. A fashion icon in her own right, on December 8, 2009, Sotheby’s conducted a charity auction placing 36 of the gowns the actress wore up for auction, including the Givenchy dress she wore in the 1962 film, Paris When it Sizzles. Combined the auction raised $469,000. Along with the 36 gowns, other wardrobe treasures worn by the actress were also auctioned off to support the Audrey Hepburn Children’s Fund. In 2007, a pink cocktail dress the actress wore in the 1961 classic, Breakfast at Tiffany’s sold for $192,000.00.

In 2005 a new generation of movie fans was introduced to the flamboyant author Truman Capote, who was as well known for his writing ability as his life on the party and talk show circuit, in the guise of the late Philip Seymour Hoffman, who channeled the author in the Academy Award nominated movie Capote.

Capote focused on the author’s classic, ground-breaking book, In Cold Blood, a true tale of killers that was made into a movie in 1967 starring Robert Blake. Previous to that, however, Capote’s 1958 novella, Breakfast at Tiffany’s established the author’s reputation as a writer of note.

“Truman Capote I do not know well, but I like him,” commented renowned writer Norman Mailer, adding, “He is tart as a grand aunt, but in his way is a ballsy little guy, and he is the most perfect writer of my generation. He writes the best sentences word for word, rhythm upon rhythm. I would not have changed two words in Breakfast at Tiffany’s, which will become a small classic.”

Mailer was right. The book is a classic and spawned a movie classic, 1961’s Blake Edward’s directed adaptation of Breakfast at Tiffany’s, starring Audrey Hepburn, George Peppard, Patricia Neal and Buddy Ebsen. An enduring classic, Paramount Home Entertainment has re-released the film in a special Anniversary Edition, as well as part of the coveted Centennial Collection line of classic titles.

 

A Stylish Classic

“I was nothing like her, but I felt I could ‘act’ Holly. I knew the part would be a challenge, but I wanted it anyway. I always wonder if I risked enough on that one. I should have been a little more outrageous. But at the time, as a new mother, I was about as wild as I could be. If only I were a Method player, huh? But the fact is, I didn’t really believe in The Method. I believed in good casting. And I’m still not sure about Holly and me,” stated the late Audrey Hepburn, addressing her most recognizable role.

Mention Audrey Hepburn and the first image that pops into any of our minds is that of the actress in the black evening dress, long black gloves, diamond necklace, diamond tiara, and long black cigarette holder as Holly Golightly in Breakfast at Tiffany’s.

In the film, Hepburn stars as Holly Golightly, a New York playgirl who is trying to navigate the city’s social circles, looking for that one big catch—a rich man. She is a free-spirited woman, who enchants one and all, including her new neighbor, a young writer (Peppard), who is also a kept man. When Hepburn wonders if she “risked enough” in the role, it is simply because in the book, Golightly’s position as a lady-of-the-evening (i.e. prostitute) is clearer, as opposed to the toned-down implications presented in the film.

Nevertheless, the movie has endured as a classic, resting firmly on Hepburn’s petite shoulders. And while cinematically it has achieved this status, upon release, Breakfast at Tiffany’s further established Hepburn as a style/fashion icon.

When it comes to beauty, style, grace, elegance and sensuality, no actress has as complete a package as Hepburn. Sure, the likes of Marilyn Monroe and Jayne Mansfield were sexuality personified, but they didn’t have the poise and presence of Hepburn. No one did. Even today, Hepburn stands alone—one of the 20^th century’s best-loved fashion and film icons.

Designers loved her. Mary Quant called her the “most stylish woman who ever lived. Hubert de Givenchy said she was “a gift from on high.”

Despite having passed away in 1993 at the age of 64, Hepburn’s legacy has endured. And it was with Breakfast at Tiffany’s that she cemented her status as a fashion goddess.

In 1953, a still unknown Hepburn starred in Roman Holiday, opposite Gregory Peck and directed by William Wyler. It was then that she first met Givenchy, starting their long history of work together in films and fashion. “My first impression was of some extremely delicate animal. She had such beautiful eyes, and she was so extremely slender, so thin,” said Givenchy.

Along with Roman Holiday, Givenchy designed Hepburn’s clothes for 1954’s Sabrina, which won the designer an Oscar. At that time, director Billy Wilder commented, “This girl, single-handed, may make bosoms a thing of the past.” Such was the impact of Hepburn’s fashion sense. Competing against a variety of well-endowed actresses, the waif-like, almost flat-chested Hepburn defined style.

“In film after film, Audrey wore clothes with such talent and flair that she created a style, which in turn had a major impact on fashion,” stated Givenchy. “Her chic, her youth, her bearing and her silhouette grew ever more celebrated, enveloping me in a kind of aura or radiance that I could never have hoped for.”

Hepburn returned Givenchy’s compliments and friendship, stating, “There are few people I love more. He is the single person I know with the greatest integrity.”

Along with Sabrina, Givenchy designed Hepburn’s wardrobe in Funny Face (1957), Love in the Afternoon (1957), Breakfast at Tiffany’s (1961), Paris When It Sizzles (1963), Charade (1964), How To Steal A Million (1966), amongst others. He also designed the wedding dress for her second wedding and the gowns for her son’s christenings.

“In every collection a part of my heart, my pencil, my design goes to Audrey. Audrey has now departed, but I still commune with her,” stated Givenchy.

 

Fashionable Impact

With Breakfast at Tiffany’s, Hepburn has made the simple black evening dress a beautiful and sexy thing. Everything she wore had impact, even the simple act of wearing a man’s white shirt, and nothing more, to walk around her apartment in the morning.

One of Hepburn’s more enduring fashion statements is the simple black polo-neck shirt. By wearing it, she turned this simple shirt into sophisticated apparel, making it one of her signature looks both on screen and off.

In an industry full of glamorous actresses, such as Marilyn Monroe, Elizabeth Taylor, Grace Kelly and many more, how could a tall, slender, flat-chested, big-footed actress beat all the others, becoming the epitome of fashion?

The answer is simple. Hepburn dressed naturally, not trying to be someone she wasn’t. Instead of trying to accentuate her figure, creating false curves, she dressed in clothing that complimented her slenderness. And rather than projecting an image of pure sexuality, she became a symbol of femininity, which seemed to appeal to both men and women. Critics over the ages have credited her with possessing a combination of glamour and sophistication, innocence and fragility, and being both regal and childlike.

“Child-women have fascinated film audiences since Lillian Gish, but Hepburn’s version came with a paradoxical glamour and sophistication,” stated author and film critic Barry Paris in a previous interview. “Most glamour queens began as waitresses or shop girls and had to be groomed for the throne by their studios. Not Audrey Hepburn. She arrived more or less in complete form, like Botticelli’s Venus on the Half Shell. Beauty and glamour may coincide, but are by no means the same thing. Beauty is visual—necessary, but not sufficient for glamour, which is more abstract. And if glamour is a form of mass hypnosis, Hepburn was the finest film hypnotist of her time.”

Some of the fashions closely represented with Hepburn are the little black dresses she seemed to like, and wore again and again in her movies. The Capri pants of Sabrina and Funny Face. Her turtlenecks, cinched waists, three-quarter sleeves, a trench coat, fitted shirts wrapped around the waist, and a scarf around her neck.

“Style is a word we use often and for a multitude of purposes,” stated Hepburn’s son, Sean Ferrer. “In the case of my mother, Audrey Hepburn, it was the extension of an inner beauty held up by a life of discipline, respect for the other and hope in humanity. If the lines were pure and elegant it was because she believed in the power of simplicity. If there was timelessness it was because she believed in quality and if she still is an icon of style today it is because once she found her look she stayed with it throughout her life. She didn’t go with the trends, didn’t reinvent herself every season. She loved fashion but kept it as a tool to compliment her look.”

With the enduring popularity of Breakfast at Tiffany’s the black dress, both long and short versions, became the fashion symbol of the day—and a fashion statement that survives, and is still embraced today. At the time of the film’s release, women embraced the black dress and the oversized sunglasses look. Hepburn’s collaboration with Givenchy on this film is considered by many to be their finest, their work together fully presenting Golightly as both glamorous and vulnerable at the same time.

“I’ve had two great privileges in my life,” stated Givenchy. “To have known and been the friend of two people of outstanding talent: Cristobal Balenciaga and Audrey Hepburn. Each of them gave me something exceptional that I carry with me today. Thinking of Audrey I remember the extraordinary bond that existed between us. She was capable of enhancing all my creations. And often ideas would come to me when I had her on my mind. She always knew what she wanted and what she was aiming for. It was like that from the very start. One thing that struck me about her, apart from her charm and elegance, was her ability to make herself loved and admired by women as well as men. Her image was unique. This is something that other great actresses have been unable to create for themselves.”

When Givenchy was first told he would be meeting Hepburn for a fitting, he mistakenly thought it was Katherine Hepburn. Little did he know that on that day he’d be meeting his muse. Hubert de Givenchy retired from the fashion world on July 11, 1995, after presenting his last haute couture show.

Audrey Hepburn has left a lasting impression on the world, as both a talented actress, fashion icon, and humanitarian. Her and Givenchy’s relationship brought together two worlds, a synergy that hasn't been duplicated in the world of fashion, before or since.