There is a news story today at the Daily News Tribune about the Premiere Props studio auctions for the film, “27 Dresses”.
This is the first interview with Dan Levin at Premiere Props that I can recall. It is interesting to have some insights into his view of the original prop hobby, and the role and function his company plays, as well as the profile of the typical customer for these auctions.
Of note is the view expressed as to the fate of many pieces offered in the marketplace by Premiere Props – buyers wearing the wardrobe pieces as well as using costume accessories. While I could personally care less about “The Devil Wears Prada” or “27 Dresses”, I’m not fond of the notion of original props and wardrobe being worn and/or used, in that actual artifacts from films should be preserved.
The story itself is limited in scope, with Premiere Props and their own auctions serving as the source for information, including price benchmarks ($8,500-$9,000 for a Resident Evil costume).
I also found the comment about pieces sold by Premiere Props holding their value as collectibles to be interesting, in that the prices realized for many of the most successful films offered by studio resellers are impacted by what I characterize as the “Hype Premium“, and obviously if people are wearing/using the pieces won at auction as wardrobe and such, I think that runs counter to any considerations of the pieces as collectibles.
Lastly, I will be curious to see if this statement proves accurate for all of these auctions – this would be a very welcome trend for the hobby:
As for authenticity, “the costumes do come straight from the studios” along with authentication tags that show what scene the costumes are from and what star wore them, said Levin.
I did reference some of these current auctions, and each I checked did have a comment to this effect.
The full story can be viewed with photo here (LINK):
Go gaga for gowns
By Diane Baltozer/DAILY NEWS STAFF
Fri Feb 01, 2008, 12:38 AM EST Bridesmaids dresses often get a bad rap, some for good reason. But a special batch of dresses – some beautiful, some profoundly hideous – are drawing starry-eyed buyers.Straight from the set of the 20th Century Fox romantic comedy “27 Dresses” are the bridesmaid gowns, a wedding gown and more worn in the film by star Katherine Heigl and others.
The chick-flick’s bridesmaid fashions reportedly were originally worn by real-life bridesmaids. As the film hit movie screens, Premiere Props in California snapped up the costumes to sell them on their Web site, on eBay and in a live auction in Los Angeles in June.
The quirky dresses include those modeled by Heigl in a hilarious montage in the film and by other characters. Being sold on premiereprops.com are some of the 27 bridesmaid dresses worn by Heigl’s perpetual bridesmaid character, some of the men’s bridal fashions and street clothes worn by others in the film, and a wedding dress from the film that won’t be sold until a live eBay auction in June.
Likely buyers include film-costume collectors, those who like to wear film fashions on the street, and – you guessed it – brides who want them for their own weddings, said Dan Levin, vice president of Marketing at Premiere Props.
The Premiereprops.com site is selling its batch for flat-rate prices, while eBay is auctioning others to the top bidders.
It’s anybody’s guess how much the auction gowns will go for, but some previous film costumes that Premiere Props has handled may offer clues.
A coveted costume worn by Gwyneth Paltrow in “Shakespeare In Love,” sold during the 25th anniversary of Miramax films, fetched thousands. And, not that you’d likely want these for a wedding (unless you’re the Bride of Frankenstein type), a Mila Jovavich costume from “Resident Evil” sold for $8,500 or $9,000, said Levin. And Mike Myers’ bloody coveralls from one of the “Halloween” films is priced online now at $3,999.99.
“It’s just funny – people love bloody costumes and those from horror films,” said Levin. His own collection of pinball machines, video games and dinosaur eggs from “Jurassic Park” decorate his and many others staffers’ offices at Premier Props.
The costumes and accessories from “27 Dresses” being sold online all are priced from $2,000 to just under $4,000.
But the “27 Dresses” garments seem to be appealing to real brides.
“We did have someone e-mail who wanted stuff for their wedding for their bridesmaids: the Malin Ackerman dresses to give to their bridesmaids,” said Levin soon after the online sale began.
What’s the appeal?
“’27 Dresses’ is a truly romantic drama where a woman finds the man of her dreams and ends up with him. People will want to remember this movie with something that was in the movie, own a piece of the movie forever. When it’s an especially feel-good movie, people can relate and (the costumes) seem to do incredibly well” sales-wise, said Levin.
Among the dresses are some name-designers’ – Dolce & Gabbana duds, Jimmy Choo and Manolo Blahnik shoes, a Prada clutch – and typical-to-quirky theme bridesmaid dresses plus street-wear from the film. The bridesmaid dresses run the style gamut, from a sweet Puttin’ On The Ritz-themed dress in pale pink with a floaty skirt and an oval of pale pink tux-type tucks on the fitted, spaghetti-strapped bodice with black accents ($2,399.99), to outfits embodying the more bridesmaidzilla-y fare found at some real-life weddings.
Levin expects the “27 Dresses” costumes to be close to as hot, sale-wise, as costumes from another film-fashion cache they handled, “The Devil Wears Prada.” But final sale prices in the auctions online and later “all depend on the movie,” said Levin. “With ‘The Devil Wears Prada,’ literally anything Prada – purses, etc. – went for a tremendous amount, especially in the auction we did with Fox (Films). Any main hero outfits did incredibly well. Everybody wanted those – and the buyers almost all didn’t care who wore it – they bought it because ‘I can have a Prada purse’ and they were using it, as well,” not just collecting movie-memorabilia, said Levin. The “27 Dresses”‘ appeal might be more a matter of who wore the dresses in the film.
“As a rising star, Katherine Heigl is hot, and is expected to continue to be a bigger and bigger star,” Levin said, so he expects those gowns will go up in value over time. And, he added, “movie props and costumes and collectibles hold their value really well – because once they’re gone, they’re gone.”
Speaking of star cachet, buyers seeking the costumes for real-life weddings won’t be able to learn the costume sizes before buying. “We keep the size confidential – we have to by agreement with the studios,” said Levin. Heigl, by the way, is 5-foot-9 and has measurements of 36-26-36, according to an interview in Maxim’s online magazine.
And, gentlemen, the bridegroom is not forgotten in this sale: Several of James Marsden’s costumes (Heigl’s pursuer) and Ed Burns’ costumes (Heigl’s crush) are for sale, including a gray Prada suit, shirt, Armani tie and Armani shoes worn by Marsden and an Ed Burns’ two-piece wedding tux by Isaia Napoli, with an Ermenegildo Zegna shirt, Hugo Boss tie and Bostonian shoes ($1,199.99 for each ensemble at premiereprops.com).
As for authenticity, “the costumes do come straight from the studios” along with authentication tags that show what scene the costumes are from and what star wore them, said Levin.
See for yourself
See costumes being sold or auctioned from “27 Dresses,” along with costumes and props from many other films, at www.premiereprops.com and periodically at www.eBay.com.
Jason De Bord