Sabrina

Audrey Hepburn's fashion in the iconic movie Sabrina is the epitome of class and elegance. But behind the scenes of this film, the real drama resided with costumes designers.

The head costume designer of Paramount was Edith Head. She had worked with the studio since 1927 and in 1952 worked with Audrey Hepburn on Roman Holiday, the movie which won her her fifth Oscar for design. Clearly, she was a master of her craft.

Edith Head

Roman Holiday skyrocketed Audrey Hepburn into stardom. Her next film, Sabrina, followed a young chauffeurs daughter rise into the Parisian socialite scene. Knowing that Sabrina would also become a big hit, Audrey had the idea to have two designers on this film; one for her characters "before" looks and one for her "after." This is where the tension began. 

Hubert de Givenchy was hired to create Sabrinas glamorous new wardrobe. Her most remembered and iconic looks from this film were all created by the young designer. This was met with much resistance from Edith who claimed that Givenchy had stolen her moment to shine.

Givenchy

Edith Heads Designs in Sabrina

Givenchys Designs in Sabrina

Though Edith and Givenchy equally designed the film, his name never appears in the credits for the movie. And on top of that, the Oscars never mentioned his contributions either. When Edith won the Oscar for her work on the film, she failed to mention Givenchy and never publicly gave him credit.

Edith Head Winning the Oscar

Aside from the drama, the designs feature in this movie are a testimony to the talent of the era. It also marked the long friendship between Audrey and Givenchy. After Sabrina, they would go on to do 16 films together.