Elizabeth Taylor’s iconic 1961 Oscars dress has been found in an old suitcase.
Taylor’s dress, along with other garments, was originally gifted to the late British-American actor’s family friend decades ago then forgotten about.
Taylor won the iconic Christian Dior dress on the same night she won an Oscar for Best Actress for the 1960 film Butterfield 8.
She later called the dress her “lucky charm”.
Approximately 10 years after the Oscars, Taylor’s friend Anne Sanz was reportedly invited to her suite at the Dorchester Hotel in London.
Sanz was told she could have “as many dresses” she wanted from Taylor’s wardrobe.
Now, all 15 items that Sanz has are being auctioned at the Kerry Taylor Auctions in Bermondsey, London, on 6 December.
“The family contacted me about this collection, they had been kept in a big suitcase in a spare room,” Kerry Taylor, of Kerry Taylor Auctions, said in a statement. “I think over the years at Christmas they would take them out to look at them and then put them back but they haven’t really been touched so they are in excellent condition.
“There are one or two items that Anne wore, but she didn’t wear any of the haute couture. I just couldn’t believe it when I saw them all. I recognised the Soir e Rio dress straight away but I thought it was in the Dior collection. They got a duplicate made, I had to contact them and say ‘I’m afraid you haven’t got the original because I have.’
“With anything like this, the items are only as could as their provenance and it doesn’t get better than this provenance.
“It’s a once-in-a-lifetime collection and I feel honoured and privileged that they came to me – any auctioneer would give their back teeth to have this prestigious collection. Some of the pieces will appeal to fashionistas as much as Elizabeth Taylor fans.”
Taylor died in March 2011, aged 79.
