Audrey Hepburn’s screen style is most closely associated with her collaboration with Hubert de Givenchy, but the enduring images span several films and distinct looks. Here are the moments the available film-history and museum sources document—with a distinction between a look described in a scene and a surviving costume recorded as an object.
Breakfast at Tiffany’s (1961): Holly Golightly at Tiffany’s
The opening look
The film’s opening image shows Holly Golightly outside Tiffany’s in a black Givenchy cocktail dress, with pearls, long black gloves, a chignon and oversized dark sunglasses. The British Film Institute describes the scene with Holly holding coffee and a pastry, details that make the outfit part of a specific cinematic moment rather than simply a standalone dress. The BFI’s account of Hepburn and Givenchy also places the designer’s influence across her screen and personal style.
For a modern interpretation, oversized black sunglasses echo one documented element of the scene; the sources do not establish a particular make or licensed reproduction.
A museum-recorded Givenchy dress
A separate, object-focused record adds material evidence to the film’s costume history. The Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History identifies a black Givenchy dress worn in Breakfast at Tiffany’s. Museo del Traje describes a long black silk gown and reports a handwritten interior inscription reading “BREKFAST AT TIFFANYS / 1961.” See the Smithsonian collection record and Museo del Traje’s gown record.
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These records document particular garments; they do not establish that one surviving dress was the sole garment used for every shot.
Roman Holiday (1953): red suit and pillbox hat
The BFI highlights an image of Hepburn in a red suit and pillbox hat walking beside the Seine as an enduring style moment. Its account also names Cary Grant in connection with the image, a pairing not independently reconciled by the source. The red-suit description is therefore best treated as the BFI’s account, not as a fully verified scene identification. Read the BFI’s film-history account.
Sabrina (1954): the start of a defining collaboration
Sabrina is a pivotal point in the working relationship between Hepburn and Givenchy. Vogue notes several Givenchy outfits in the film, while ASU FIDM connects it with the beginning of their collaboration. The available coverage supports the film’s importance to their partnership, but not a specific garment description for an additional costume moment. Vogue’s wardrobe overview and ASU FIDM’s article on Hepburn and Richard Avedon provide context.
Funny Face (1957): the polo neck
Vogue singles out the polo neck Hepburn wears in Funny Face as one of the enduring clothes from her films. The source identifies the garment and film pairing; it does not specify a color or further styling details. Vogue’s wardrobe overview places the polo neck among the pieces that helped define Hepburn’s screen wardrobe.
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- Rare and classic images digitally restored from vintage photographic prints, original studio negatives and transparencies.
- Never-before-seen publicity photos, scene stills and work shots from the sets of Roman Holiday, Sabrina, Funny Face, Love in the Afternoon, and The Nun’s Story.
- Previously unpublished "posed candids" of Audrey at home.
- Beautifully restored advertisements, fan magazine layouts, international film posters and lobby cards.
- Quotes from photographers, directors, and costars, including William Holden, Gregory Peck, Fred Astaire, Billy Wilder, King Vidor, William Wyler, Edith Head, Hubert de Givenchy, Richard Avedon, Cecil Beaton, and Audrey herself.
Beyond one famous dress: Givenchy across Hepburn’s films
Hepburn’s association with Givenchy extended beyond Holly Golightly’s black dress. ASU FIDM names Sabrina, Charade and Breakfast at Tiffany’s among the films associated with their collaboration, and the BFI discusses eight film collaborations. That broader record is a reason to understand her style as a partnership across film and personal wardrobe—not a claim that every outfit in those films was designed by Givenchy. ASU FIDM also quotes photographer Richard Avedon: “I am, and forever will be, devastated by the gift of Audrey Hepburn before my camera.” ASU FIDM’s article places Avedon in the context of Hepburn’s image and career.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Why these moments endure
These documented examples show different kinds of evidence behind Hepburn’s fashion legacy: film-history accounts describe a recognizable scene or garment, while museum records identify and describe particular surviving objects. Keeping those categories distinct makes the story clearer—and avoids turning a handful of famous images into unsupported claims about every costume she wore.
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