It sounds like a Project Runway challenge: create a look Princess Grace would have worn. However, the six gowns that are currently being displayed in the windows of Saks Fifth Avenue were created by some of the top designers -- each being paired with a specific look to be reinterpreted in a modern way.
To help mark the 25th anniversary of her death, and to raise money for the Princess Grace Foundation USA (which funds theatrical and dance scholarships), the gowns will be auctioned off after they're shown off this week. Designers asked to put their own touch on a unique look: Carolina Herrera, Zac Posen, Oscar de la Renta, Ralph Lauren, Ralph Rucci and Vera Wang. Herrera reinterpreted the above Edith Head-design dress, which Kelly wore during her role as Lisa Carol Fremont in Rear Window -- see her version on display here. Through tomorrow you can also visit a free exhibit at Sotheby's called "Grace, Princess of Monaco: A Tribute to the Life and Legacy of Grace Kelly.'' More details here, and more images of the gowns on display here. In a statement, Maguy Maccario Doyle (consul general of Monaco) recalls the style of the Princess and actress: "As Grace Kelly the actress, she gave us some of the most glamorous and stylish moments in cinematic history and as Princess of Monaco she was equally elegant and inspiring."
It's not surprising these tributes are taking place in New York, Kelly had many ties to the city. She was living in the Barbizon Hotel for Women (which is now a condo complex, of course), located at 140 East 63rd Street, while modeling and attending the American Academy of Dramatic Arts. In the '50s she signed a 7-year contract with MGM under the terms that she be able to keep living here. And outdoing anything you've read in the NY Times Wedding section, when she departed the city for The Palace of Monaco on April 4, 1956 for her wedding -- Kelly, her family, her poodle, her wedding party and 80+ pieces of luggage left Pier 84 in New York Harbor on the SS Constitution, causing quite a scene.
