Christie's Auction: Auction of a Haute Couture wardrobe
Christie's held an auction of the most beautiful haute couture dresses this week. From Chanel to Givenchy to Valentino, major luxury brands were represented. A look at the dreamlike creations of the most important designers of the past and present.
The auction house Christie's, headquartered in London , does business in 46 countries, has 10 showrooms worldwide and operates a platform for online auctions. Christie 's specializes in art and luxury goods auctions.
On the occasion of Fashion Week , the company held a very special online auction from January 11 to 25: 115 haute couture pieces from the VWS - De Beijing à Versailles collection were auctioned. The high-quality collection was amassed by an art lover and mainly contains pieces from the 1970s to the 1990s.
Two examples from this collection were already sold at The Exceptional Sale. One of them set a world record. The embroidered evening coat from the Chanel Haute Couture Fall/Winter 1996 collection was sold for an incredible €277,200. The lot was purchased by a generous supporter of the Victoria National Gallery in Melbourne, Australia . The coat, designed by Karl Lagerfeld, will soon be on display in the museum's collection.
The versatile selection includes the great fashion designers of the 20th century and shows their fine craftsmanship and creativity. The selection included cocktail dresses, day and evening dresses, embroidered pieces or skirt and pants suits. The variety of materials and styles used make the works of thecouturiers appear as individual works of art.
The diverse pieces were presented in a special scenography that was designed in collaboration with the architect Aline Asmar d'Amman. The Lebanese is also the founder of Culture in Architecture, based in Paris and Beirut. In her projects she tries to connect cultures through modernity, poetry and materiality. Your interior design projects are in demand worldwide.
She has already furnished the Le Jules Verne restaurant on the Eiffel Tower and the ongoing conversion of the Palazzo Dona Giovanelli into the future Orient Express Hotel. She has even been able to work with Karl Lagerfeld . For him she was allowed to do the decoration in his Hôtel de Crillon and to work on his collection of functional sculptures, 'Architectures', for the Carpenters Workshop Gallery.
Aline Asmar d'Amman is not only represented in interior design. She also works as an artistic director and developer of stage sets. In 2022 she designed the architectural stage design for the Lebanese Pavilion at the Venice Art Biennale and presented her furniture collection.
I was overwhelmed by the richness of the private VWS collection, which bridges cultures and puts them in perspective through the exceptional know-how of Parisian haute couture. - Aline Asmar d'Amman
The exquisite wardrobe
The collection includes sumptuous haute couture pieces, some of which have been embroidered by the Maison Lesage. The opening made a beautiful purple velvet dress adorned with pearls and the “Tudor” rose motif from the House of Chanel and directed by Karl Lagerfeld. Also up for auction was a black velvet ensemble by Hubert de Givenchy from 1979. It was adorned with red satin cuffs as a tribute to Elsa Schiaparelli .
Some pieces wore combinations of the colors black and white, which makes them radiate modernity and elegance in equal measure. From Givenchy there was a long evening dress made of ivory colored crepe with black embroidered sequins (1983). But the collection also contained colored designs. Alexander McQueen was represented in a stunning green satin and black beaded lace coat from 1997-1998.
Haute couture garments are estimated at between €400 and €4,000. At the family's request, a donation of 5% of the total proceeds went to the Musée des Arts Décoratifs in Paris.
Auction of André Leon Talley's collection from January 27th
The auction of the collection of legendary fashion editor André Leon Talley also started this week. He managed to become the first black man to get the title of creative director of American Vogue. Its extensive collection includes haute couture pieces, handbags and jewellery. It was his passion for beauty and style that got him collecting. Due to his good relationships with well-known designers, he received a number of lots from the likes of Karl Lagerfeld, Miuccia Prada and Ralph Rucci. The auction collection covers the fashion history of the last 50 years.
André Leon Talley's sense of fashion was unique and timeless. He was categorically chic, and the collection he amassed over his lifetime was unparalleled. - Elizabeth Seigel, Christie's Head of Private and Iconic
In early 2022, Talley passed away at the age of 73 as a result of complications from a heart attack and a Covid-19 infection. The collection will be auctioned off as his estate in order to use the proceeds to support the projects he dedicated himself to during his lifetime. Donations will go to the Abyssinian Baptist Church in New York and the Mt. Sinai Missionary Baptist Church in Durham. The auctions will take place in a series of online and live auctions starting January 27, 2023.
Christie's auction house
Christie's has been around since 1766. Over 80 categories of fine art and luxury goods are covered in the auctions and private sales. The auction prices range from a few hundred euros to over 100 million euros. Art auctions such as Salvator Mundi by Leonardo da Vinci (2017) or Shot Sage Blue Marilyn by Andy Warhol (2022) achieved top prices.
Christie 's has a good international reputation, which benefits from constant further development in the technological areas. Half of sales are made through online auctions. With virtual tours, augmented reality and holograms, auction items can also be viewed up close from a distance. The auction house is also a pioneer of digitization in the art world: in March 2021, Christie's was the first auction house to link a digital work of art to an NFT ( Beeple's Everydays ), offer it for sale and also accept a cryptocurrency as a means of payment.
Photos: PR
