Customer Reviews

Audrey Hepburn: A Woman, the Style

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. . a beautiful and touching tribute to Audrey Hepburn, this rare photo book was published for the 1999 exhibition at the Ferragamo Museum in Florence, Italy. This impressive book of 230 pages is packed with color & b/w photos of Hepburn - many of which have never been published before. The text is in both English & Italian and includes tributes from her son Sean Ferrer, her companion Robert Wolders, and her designer Givenchy. The book traces her career and includes a complete filmography. Thirty pages are devoted to the Ferragamo exhibit of clothing worn by Hepburn; sections include stage costumes & accessories, coats & daytime wear, cocktail & dinner dresses, evening dresses, full dresses (including the dresses designed and worn for her 2 weddings). Full color reproductions of magazine covers & movie posters are included. This publication which is produced on premium paper stock.

One of the rarest and most difficult to find of books on Audrey Hepburn also happens to be one of the very best. Published in a limited run for a series of exhibits for Salvatorre Ferragamo, beginning in Italy and reaching as far as Australia, this book is worth every bit of effort you can muster to locate it. The book offers over 200 pages of dazzling, mostly never before seen photographs. They range from studio shots to film stills to candid shots. The publication aims to present Miss Hepburn's beauty physically, but also succeeds in showing her true, inner beauty with a very intelligent, well put-together text. Aside from the usual biography and filmography are various writings by the people who knew her best. The preface by her son Sean Ferrer sets up the book quite nicely. I could get very technical with descriptions and offer a more serious critique, but I feel that it is not necessary with this book. The book is very inspired and wonderfully edited by Stefania Ricci, but its strength lies in the beautiful pictures of one of the most beautiful women in history. It's all about the pictures with this one. If you are an Audrey Hepburn fan, this is an ESSENTIAL addition to your collection. FIND IT IF YOU CAN.

I bought this exhibit catalogue, because it received such good reviews here. I don't regret buying the book, but I don't think the reviews fully do the book justice. If you are an Audrey fan considering whether or not to add this your collection, I highly recommend it, but do be wary: it does some flaws.

The Good vs. the Bad.

I have very little bad to say about the book. This catalogue accompanied a Ferragamo exhibition of Audrey's style (clothing, shoes, handbags, and hats) as well as rare and famous photographs from her career and personal life. Ferragamo, a longtime friend, and Audrey's sons put together the exhibit. What makes this exhibition unique is that reproduction shoe molds were made, and then select artists from around the world were hired to "paint" them representing one of her movies. The shoe molds--now objets de art--were then photographed in settings inspired the movies. The photographs were then sold to raise money for Audrey's favorite charities. The painted shoe molds and photographs are included in the book.

As you can imagine, since the exhibition was sponsored by family, it is not unbiased. It largely praises Audrey's film personal and personal life. And, yet, for all that, it is not uncritical of her. It points out she lived a quiet life, but it wasn't always a fairy tale. That despite the lack of scandal surrounding her life, she still struggled to find happiness, hope and well-being. So the reader will not feel insulted: Audrey is treated like a normal human being, rather than as a star who should be celebrated. (It is a refreshing contrast to Pamela Clarke Keogh's "Audrey Style" where every other sentence is "Audrey is sooooo perfect, the rest of the universe just failes.")

The pictures included are amazingly diverse ranging from early career to her last years as a UNICEF ambassador. They are also expertly arranged, as if to tell a story. For example, on a page where Audrey is shown dancing, the pictures are zig-zagged in such a manner that they reflect her moving. (You don't feel as you are looking at a 'still.')

The exhibition was divided into parts, and so is the catalogue: Each chapter is introduced by one of Audrey's friends (Bob Willoughby, Valentina Cortese, Billy Wilder, Hubert de Givenchy, and Robert Wolders). The chapters then look at aspects of Audrey's life: dancing, style, simplicity & harmony, and children of the world. The epilogue of the book is pictures of the clothing featured at the museum during the exhibition.

Also, the book is bilingual. Each chapter is written in Italian with an English translation. (Don't skip the Italian section, English readers, it has lots of Audrey pics!)

I hate to critique this book since it was put together with an obvious artistic eye and special care was taken in what was written and what was featured, but if you are an Audrey fan, you need to know this:

There are lots of pictures. They are all wonderful to look at BUT many of them are thumb-nail size. At the start of chapters, they are often shoved into the "border" near the binding) of the book. (The end of chapters is where pictures are given the artistic arrangement.) It's particularly disheartening that many of the exhibition clothes, shoes, hats and handbags are given this same treatment. I got this because I wanted to see the details--but obviously that can't be done.

Books about Audrey's style are too rare, and so this is worth the investment. But I'm sure a better one will come along. This one is also worth buying because it's a rare insight into what Audrey's friends and family think about her legacy: her style, her filmmaking, her charitable work--and how it continues to impact the world today. (One of her sons has written a book as well.)