When you know how much work goes into celebrity red carpet dresses – Nicole Kidman’s Cannes Dior dress took 1,000 hours to make, and Adele’s Zuhair Murad Wembley dress took 500 hours, it makes sense that they have a price tag to match. But even we couldn’t handle it when we found out the most expensive dress in the world cost over £4m, according do new picture research by Getty.
Makes you feel a little less guilty about that Zara splurge, right? Bur before we tell you which iconic dress topped the list, here’s a little look at the nine other pricey gowns, including the Dior dress a famous actress was paid $2m to wear.
William Travilla’s Marilyn Monroe dress: $5.6 MILLION. Marilyn Monroe’s ivory pleated subway dress from the 1955 movie The Seven Year Itch sold for $5.6 million in a Beverly Hills auction in 2011.
Let’s just finish on this note: can you imagine being paid to wear a designer gown? Oh to be a celebrity.
Nicole Kidman in Christian Dior: $2 MILLION. Nicole Kidman was paid $2 million to don this chartreuse Haute Couture gown designed by John Galliano for Christian Dior at the 1997 Academy Awards.
Julie Andrews, $1.56million. Photo by Moviestore/REX/Shutterstock (1650475a)
The pinafore Julie Andrews wore when she played Maria Von Trapp in 1965 was later sold for $1.56million at auction. And it didn’t even have any diamonds on it…
Audrey Hepburn in Givenchy: $900,000. The little black dress Audrey Hepburn wore in Breakfast at Tiffany’s is one of the most iconic dresses of all time. The Givenchy frock was auctioned and sold for just shy of a million dollars at Christie’s in New York.
Imperial Pearl Syndicate wedding dress: $500,000. Mary Joe Connolly, a photographer for King Features, modelled a pearl wedding gown worth half a million dollars today. The dress was made of 100,000 cultured pearls and was worth $100,000 in the 1950s, donning the heftiest price tag for its time.
Meghan Markle in Givenchy: £387,000. While the cost of Meghan Markle’s wedding dress hasn’t been confirmed, it was estimated at over £100k more than Kate’s thanks to its bespoke design, expensive fabric and fittings, as well as a custom-made veil and wedding shoes.
Amal Clooney in Oscar de la Renta: $380,000. Amal Clooney wore a custom-made gown by Oscar de la Renta on her wedding day. The exquisite dress featured intricate French lace detailing and hand-embroidered pearls.
Kate Middleton in Alexander McQueen: £250,000. Kate Middleton’s wedding dress was custom-made by Alexander McQueen’s head designer Sarah Burton. Featuring delicate lace embroidery, this dress has inspired many modern replicas, especially for other fairytale weddings.
Princess Diana in Victor Edelstein: £240,000. Princess Diana danced with actor John Travolta at President Raegan’s White House Dinner in 1985, wearing a custom-made velvet gown by Victor Edelstein. The iconic dress was originally auctioned off for charity in 1997, selling for £100,000, then sold again in 2013 for £240,000.
Cate Blanchett in Armani Privé: $200,000. Cate Blanchett rocked the red carpet in this Armani Privé dress for the 2007 Oscars. The form fitting, gunmetal gown is fully embellished with Swarovski crystals.
Lupita Nyong’o in Calvin Klein: $150,000. Lupita Nyong’o attended the 87th Annual Academy Awards in 2015 wearing a custom Calvin Klein dress made with over 6,000 pearls.
Charlize Theron in Christian Dior: $100,000. Charlize Theron wore this Dior couture gown for the 2013 Oscars. While the dress already hit a hundred grand, the actress paired it with Harry Winston diamond cuffs, bringing the value of this elegant look to a whopping $4 million.
Kate Winslet in Valentino: $100,000. The mint-green Valentino creation Kate wore to the 2007 Academy Awards was reportedly worth around a hundred thousand dollars and was picked out by her daughter, Mia. Girl’s got taste.
Anne Hathaway, $80,000. 2011 was the year Anne Hathaway and James Franco did a cringe-tastic job of hosting the Academy Awards. But let’s not allow that to overshadow the striking letterbox-red Valentino gown she chose for her red carpet entrance. Or, the Tiffany & Co. ‘Lucinda’ necklace she accessorised it with that cost a staggering ten million dollars.
From Marie Claire UK
