When Liz Hurley attended the film premiere of “Four Weddings and a Funeral” in May 1994, she was just the unknown company. The actual star was her partner at the time, actor Hugh Grant – the main actor in the film. But after the evening in London’s Leicester Square, nobody talked about Grant, but everything revolved around Hurley.
The reason for this was the dress that the British woman wore. A floor-length black gown by designer Gianni Versace. The creation had a daringly plunging neckline and was held together at the right side only by six gold safety pins. A high leg slit added extra sex appeal. Hurley presented the skimpy dress with so much conviction and confidence, as if she had never done anything else.
In 2019, she confessed to fashion magazine Harper’s Bazaar: “I was completely unprepared for what happened that night.” The choice of her wardrobe was purely coincidental. “I really needed a dress to wear to Hugh’s premiere and I knew nothing about fashion at the time.” She was given the number of a PR agency that offered her a loan.
Her preparation for the evening was absolutely unspectacular. “I remember walking into an office where they pulled a dress out of a white plastic bag,” Hurley said. “I brought it home, did my own hair and makeup and argued with Hugh over the mirror in our tiny one-bedroom apartment. It was all very unglamorous compared to the way things were done back then .”
Appearing in the safety pin dress made Liz Hurley famous overnight. Jobs as a model, actress and film producer followed. She is now a successful entrepreneur and sells her own bikini collection. She will forever be associated with the Versace gown. In 2019, her son Damian wore a very similar outfit to a performance in London.
“Gianni made this dress for a woman who is very confident and not afraid to break the rules,” said Donatella Versace of her late brother’s creation. “Liz embodied all of that in an extraordinary way.” Even if Hurley himself didn’t realize it at the time.
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