The famous white bikini worn by Ursula Andress in the 1962’s Agent 007 – License to Kill, will be put up for auction on November 12 by “Profiles in History” in Los Angeles. Is estimated that the two-piece can be sold for $ 500,000 as revealed by the auction house itself. Andress, who at the time was a relatively unknown actress, has repeatedly attributed her success to that bikini, calling it her “springboard” and in 1964 she even won a Golden Globe for Best Debut Actress for the role of Bond girl Honey Ryder. The appearance of the provocative blonde beauty emerging from the water with the ivory two-piece, alongside Sean Connery remains a cult scene in the history of cinema.
The bikini was designed by Ursula Andress herself, who worked closely alongside the director Terence Young and costume designer Tessa Welborn so that the bikini could perfectly fit her body. First unveiled in 1946 in Paris, the bikini was considered, since its first appearance on the big screen, to be too bold for a decent woman’s wardrobe. Only in the 1960s, with the feminist and sexual revolution at the door, was finally recontextualized. In the same year of the release of the film, Playboy dedicated its first cover to the two-piece. The bikini has already been auctioned in the past, by Ursula herself in London (2001). At the time the lucky buyer was Robert Earl, the co-founder of Planet Hollywood, for “only” 38,260 euros.
At the auction will include other items from the James Bond saga: Roger Moore’s monogrammed pyjamas in “Agent 007 – Live and let die” estimated up to around 13 thousand euros; the grey jacket worn by Ernst Blofeld in “Agent 007 – Diamonds Are Forever” which could be worth from 17 thousand to 25 thousand euros, and Jane Seymour’s emerald cloak and headdress in “Agent 007 – Live and let die”, which according to experts could be sold between 51 thousand to around 70 thousand euros.
