While the runways of Paris Fashion Week are meant to spotlight the styles of the future, Christie’s upcoming auctions are dedicated to the styles of the past.
Running from January 11th to 25th, the online sale will include 114 haute couture pieces by some of the 20th century’s most prolific designers. Think Christian Dior, Yves Saint Laurent, Karl Lagerfeld, Hubert de Givenchy, and others.
The VWS collection was put together by a family fleeing persecution in the Russian Empire in the early 1900s. VWS, the initials of the family patriarch, traveled from Russia to China to France, collecting art, fashion and ornaments along the way.
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Primarily dating back to the 1970s, 80s and 90s, Fashion Week sale couture highlights the skill and savoir-faire of various fashion greats. The collection includes cocktail dresses, suits and embroidered garments that promise a wealth of color, elegance and drama.
For example, a violet velvet Chanel dress from the 1980s, entirely covered in pearls (high estimate: $6,449/€6,000) or a Yves Saint Laurent jacket adorned with sequins, jewels and golden leather ( High Estimate: $5,374/Euro). 5,000) There are also more modest pieces, such as Hubert de Givenchy’s black velvet ensemble, which dates back to 1979 and pays homage to Elsa Schiaparelli (high estimate: $1,289 / €1,200).
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Prices range from $425 (€400) to $4,250 (€4,000) per card, but may drop further. In fact, at Christie’s Exceptional Sale in December, two of his pieces from the VWS collection have already achieved impressive numbers. A 1988 Yves Saint Laurent jacket and skirt sold for just over $162,000 (€151,200), six times his estimate.
The collection will be exhibited in Paris from January 19th to 25th. According to Christie’s, 5% of the auction’s proceeds will be donated to the Art Decorativ Museum in Paris.
So consider couture for good reason.
