We are back to tempt you again for our final sale of the year!
The star of the show this time is Elizabeth Taylor’s Christian Dior couture Soirée à Rio 'Oscars' dress, Spring-Summer 1961, by Marc Bohan (Lot 422). This historic gown, along with a selection of elegant pieces from the late Hollywood icon’s wardrobe, comprise Lots 407-422 in the sale. The majority of these items were gifted to close family friends Gaston and Elizabeth Sanz. Mr Gaston Sanz had worked for Elizabeth Taylor since the 1950s and was one of her most trusted and longest serving employees.
We are thrilled to include the jaw-dropping collection of Vivienne Westwood from Baby Mary (Lots 244-296). Baby Mary’s bright pink vintage boutique 'Miss Faline', located in Tokyo, Japan, has garnered a cult following, enticing fashion hunters from all around the world through its doors. Her collection includes pieces so rare we could previously only dream of them, such as Lot 274, the ‘baby’ corset featuring a detail from the painting 'Catharina Hooft with her Nurse' by Frans Hal, 1619-20, 'Always On Camera' collection, Autumn-Winter 1992-93. Lot 278 comprises a rare faux-fur corset and mini-skirt and Lot 277 a faux fur cape, both key looks from the 'Anglomania' collection, Autmn-Winter 1993-94. The latter is famously seen on the runway, worn backwards by Kate Moss. Also included are not one but three crowns to choose from (Lots 246, 247 & 285), and to complete the look: a faux-ermine capelet, as worn by Sarah Stockbridge in the iconic image captured by Nick Knight for the 'Harris Tweed' collection, Autumn-Winter 1987-88 (Lot 245).
Also starring in this sale is The Sue Clowes collection (Lots 192-209). The important English fashion and textile designer came to prominence during the post-punk era of British fashion. Clowes created a cultural cocktail of offbeat imagery and her vibrant designs, which utilised paper stencilling and primary colours, helped defined the emerging New Wave style. Her designs were popularised by key early 80s bands and artists, such as Culture Club, Bananarama, Nina Hagen, Jennie Bellestar, Toya Wilcox, Psychedelic Furs, and Depeche Mode.
For those of you in need of a razzle-dazzle party dress for the festive season, Lots 353-405 comprise the Julien Macdonald archive of celebrity dress. These garments were set aside to lend to celebrities and VIPs for stage performances and red carpet events, many of them immediately recognisable from press images such as ‘that dress’ worn by Emily Ratanovski at the Harper's Bazaar Icons Awards in 2016. And for the ultimate party gown, look no further than Lot 406: Brooke Shield's Vivienne Westwood couture ballgown, worn for her starring role in the Christmas film ‘A Castle For Christmas', 2021.
There is an extraordinary selection of original 1930s costumes designed by Erté for the Bal Tabarin in Paris (Lots 89-95). These daring outfits saw performers transformed into scantily clad sea monsters, evil flowers, tigers, leopards and panthers, or even wearing nothing at all except for a shimmering sequin-scaled velvet snake draped around their bodies. While this Poiret-trained designor and illustrator’s drawings often fetch large sums at auction, it is not often we see costumes coming to market, not least originals from his heyday on the Parisian cabaret scene. If you are a fan of Moulin Rouge then these lots are for you!
Historic dress is also well represented in the sale with an exceptionally rare infant's pierced iron corset from the early 17th century, appearing more akin to plate armour than the flexible boned corsets we are more typically accustomed to seeing. And the robes worn by Henry Nevill 2nd Earl of Abergavenny to the coronation of King George IV, 19th July, 1821 (Lot 71) are so rich with gold thread that their shimmering brilliance makes them appear as if they were made only yesterday!
We wish you all a Merry Christmas and look forward to assisting you with your bids!
Morning session, lots 1-211, begins at 09:30am. The afternoon session, lots 212-422, will begin at 2pm.
For more information on how to bid, please click here. Live bidding is now possible via our website on sale day. In order to bid online, please ensure you have created an account with us and that your account is enabled for live bidding - new clients will need to email us a form of photo ID, proof of address and paid invoices from other auction houses where appropriate. Once you have created an account and have been approved to bid, please click the purple 'Pre-register for live bidding' button which will appear on the online catalogue. You then need to accept the terms and conditions to proceed. On the day of the sale, a button marked 'Bid live' will appear on the website and clicking this will allow you to access the live bidding platform. Please note that there is an additional 1.5% charge plus VAT for any lots won via our online bidding platform.
Please also note that online bidding is automatically capped at £6,000 in total - if you envisage that you will exceed this amount, please contact us directly so we can remove the bidding cap - we may ask for further information from you before doing this.
Clients who prefer to bid via Invaluable still have this option and can access the catalogue here. Please note the charge for bidding online via the Invaluable platform is 3% plus VAT. We strongly advise that you register to bid in advance of the auction and not the day of, as we cannot guarantee approval once the auction has begun.
Lot 288 - A rare Vivienne Westwood micro-mini skirt, circa 1994
Sold for £600
Buyer's premium: 25% (exclusive of VAT)
Lot 289 - A rare stretch-girdle and bustle pad, 'On Liberty' collection, Autumn-Winter 1994-95
Sold for £1,900
Buyer's premium: 25% (exclusive of VAT)
Lot 290 - A Vivienne Westwood floral print ensemble, 'On Liberty' collection, Autumn-Winter 1994-95
Sold for £480
Buyer's premium: 25% (exclusive of VAT)
Lot 291 - A Vivienne Westwood black velvet corset, mid-1990s
Sold for £650
Buyer's premium: 25% (exclusive of VAT)
Lot 292 - A Vivienne Westwood black velvet corset, 1990s
Sold for £750
Buyer's premium: 25% (exclusive of VAT)
Lot 298 - A John Galliano striped wool-blend blazer, Spring-Summer 1990
Sold for £500
Buyer's premium: 25% (exclusive of VAT)
Lot 299 - A rare John Galliano showpiece, 'Honcho Woman', Spring-Summer 1991
Sold for £5,500
Buyer's premium: 25% (exclusive of VAT)
Lot 300 - A John Galliano black crêpe dress, 'Honcho Woman' collection, Spring-Summer 1991
Sold for £2,600
Buyer's premium: 25% (exclusive of VAT)
Lot 304 - Five John Galliano embroidery samples for 'Princess Lucretia', Spring-Summer 1994
Sold for £160
Buyer's premium: 25% (exclusive of VAT)
Lot 305 - A John Galliano tattersall wool suit, 'The Baby Maker' collection, Autumn-Winter 1996-97
Sold for £600
Buyer's premium: 25% (exclusive of VAT)
Lot 306 - A John Galliano 'tattoo' body, 'Suzie Sphinx' collection, Autumn-Winter 1997-88
Sold for £500
Buyer's premium: 25% (exclusive of VAT)
Lot 307 - A John Flett man's grey pinstripe cotton-linen blend double-breasted suit, circa 1989
Sold for £750
Buyer's premium: 25% (exclusive of VAT)
Lot 308 - An Alexander McQueen grey wool-blend dress, 1999-2000
Sold for £1,100
Buyer's premium: 25% (exclusive of VAT)
Lot 309 - An Alexander McQueen black rayon-blend jumpsuit, 'La Poupee', Spring-Summer 1997
Sold for £3,000
Buyer's premium: 25% (exclusive of VAT)
Lot 310 - Alexander McQueen sequined 'Drei Mädchen' dress, 'Joan', Autumn-Winter 1998-99
Sold for £11,500
Buyer's premium: 25% (exclusive of VAT)
Lot 313 - A Gianni Versace black embellished ensemble, 'Joshua Tree' collection, Spring-Summer 1990
Sold for £650
Buyer's premium: 25% (exclusive of VAT)
Lot 313A - A Gianni Versace bodice and printed organza skirt, early 1990s
Sold for £900
Buyer's premium: 25% (exclusive of VAT)
Lot 314 - A pair of Gianni Versace black wool culottes, circa 1992
Sold for £300
Buyer's premium: 25% (exclusive of VAT)
Lot 314A - A Gianni Versace 'Bondage' suit, 'Miss S&M' collection, Autumn-Winter 1992-93
Sold for £400
Buyer's premium: 25% (exclusive of VAT)
Lot 315 - A Thierry Mugler black velvet evening gown, circa 1994
Sold for £1,500
Buyer's premium: 25% (exclusive of VAT)
Lot 316 - An Azzedine Alaia bias-cut lace dress, 1993
Sold for £1,400
Buyer's premium: 25% (exclusive of VAT)
Lot 317 - An Azzedine Alaia green chenille dress, Spring-Summer 1994
Sold for £480
Buyer's premium: 25% (exclusive of VAT)
Lot 318 - A pair of men's Jean Paul Gaultier boots, 'Chic Rabbis' collection, Autumn-Winter 1993-94
Sold for £190
Buyer's premium: 25% (exclusive of VAT)
Lot 319 - An Issey Miyake pleated black polyester two-piece ensemble, 2004
Sold for £300
Buyer's premium: 25% (exclusive of VAT)
Lot 320 - A pair of rare Comme des Garçons 'flat' black leather shoes, circa 1985
Sold for £5,500
Buyer's premium: 25% (exclusive of VAT)
Lot 323 - An Issey Miyake blue and white printed cotton smock-dress, circa 1985
Sold for £750
Buyer's premium: 25% (exclusive of VAT)
Lot 324 - An Issey Miyake pleated polyester dress, 2017
Sold for £180
Buyer's premium: 25% (exclusive of VAT)
Lot 325 - A Yohji Yamamoto camouflage cotton ensemble, Spring-Summer 2006
Sold for £500
Buyer's premium: 25% (exclusive of VAT)
Lot 330 - A Junya Watanabe/Comme des Garçons imitation suede poncho, Spring-Summer 2014
Sold for £200
Buyer's premium: 25% (exclusive of VAT)
Lot 331 - An Issey Miyake man's leather jacket, early 1980s
Sold for £3,800
Buyer's premium: 25% (exclusive of VAT)
