Amy Winehouse dress fetches $68,000 at auction

LONDON - A printed chiffon dress worn by the late singer Amy Winehouse for the cover of her chart-topping album "Back to Black" has sold for 43,200 pounds ($68,000) at auction.

The hammer price, minus buyer's premium, was 36,000 pounds, still well above pre-sale estimates of 10-20,000 pounds, said a spokeswoman for Kerry Taylor Auctions which specialises in high-end vintage fashion.

Proceeds from the Disaya-designed dress will go to the Amy Winehouse Foundation, a charity set up by her father Mitch to help young people struggling with ill health, poverty or addiction.

Winehouse, who died in July aged 27, had a history of drug and alcohol abuse and high alcohol levels were found in her blood at the time of her death.

The buyer of the dress was the Museo de la Moda in Santiago, Chile.

Among other highlights of Tuesday's sale was an Edith Head-designed ivory lace gown, a version of which was worn by Audrey Hepburn in the 1953 romantic comedy "Roman Holiday" in which she starred alongside Gregory Peck.

The dress, which Hepburn had modified to receive her best actress Oscar for the same movie, fetched 70,000 pounds, or 84,000 pounds including premium.

Overall, the auction raised 708,000 pounds including premium, exceeding high estimates.

"This sale demonstrates that even in these difficult economic times, the appetite for for haute couture is undiminished and we are already looking forward to our next auction in February," said Kerry Taylor.

(Reporting by Mike Collett-White, editing by Paul Casciato)