The latest in Christie’s series of single-owner fashion collections (previous owners include Daphne Guinness, Elizabeth Taylor, Anna Piaggi, Vivienne Westwood and Marilyn Monroe), IN MY FASHION: The Suzy Menkes Collection will consist of over 70 lots, the majority of them on offer for under £1,000, with many starting at £200. (Interesting that this auction seems geared to the Internet generation… Menkes recently published a high-profile editorial, “The Circus of Fashion,” which criticized bloggers and street style for creating a flashier, fame-driven fashion culture.)
Given that Menkes is auctioning off pieces of fashion history — such as ten early items by Christian Lacroix, a 1980s Yves Saint Laurent trouser suit and a 1960s Emilio Pucci sleeveless silk dress — her explanation for why she’s selling the garments might seem a little jarring:
“I have never thrown anything out of my wardrobe since 1964. If I had a large open space in my home, I would dedicate it, like an art gallery, to my collection. But there is something sad about clothes laid in a tomb of trunks. They need to live again and this auction provides the opportunity for them to walk out in the sunshine, to dance the night away and to give someone else the joy that they gave to me.”
A tomb of trunks! And Menkes is parting with only 70 items … I bet that doesn’t make a dent.
(read on for more of her collection)
