Days of silk and gold for those collecting legendary designs
The sale of celebrity wardrobes is experiencing the most lucrative moment in its history. This is thanks to the endurance of fashion icons and the new circular economy
At the Grand Palais, in Paris, the bride walks in as if she were entering a church. Her dress is grand and endless. It’s 2015, at the closing of Karl Largerfeld’s autumn-winter couture show, for the luxury brand Chanel. And the bride is actually a top model, Ashleigh Good, who is several months pregnant. Dressed in white, she walks softly, as if she’s almost barefoot, slowly turning and revealing her face to the spectators.
The design — resembling an empress-style dress — was made of neoprene, a synthetic rubber. It was seamless haute couture. Last year, the dress was auctioned off at Christie’s for €94,500 ($102,000).
In recent years, fashion has tended to mix a variety of things, including the memory of the person who first wore an outfit, the desire to own it, as well as political activism. Elizabeth Taylor, L’Wren Scott, Daphne Guinness, Elsa Schiaparelli, Audrey Hepburn, Catherine Deneuve, Zizi Jeanmaire, Vivienne Westwood and — in recent weeks — actress Jessica Chastain have put parts of their wardrobe up for sale to benefit social causes.
The act of collecting the garments once owned by celebrities is experiencing days of silk and gold. Up until June 28 of 2024, Westwood’s successors sold more than 200 pieces spanning four decades of fashion design. The proceeds went to the deceased fashion designer’s foundations of choice: Amnesty International and Doctors Without Borders.
“The objects had a tangible link to her legend that cannot be repeated. This sale is unprecedented and will always be unmatched,” says Adrian Hume-Sayer, director of Private & Iconic Collections at Christie’s.
From the French master Yves Saint-Laurent (1936-2008), we learned that while “fashion fades, style is eternal.” It’s an equation with an obvious result: he holds the record for the most expensive haute couture garment sold in the world. It was an evening outfit, a tribute to Vincent Van Gogh, known as the tournesols dress (“sunflowers” in French), with an organza background, glass pearls embroidered by Maison Lesage, silk and chenille satin and buttons by Desrues. Some 600 hours of work were involved, with only four made in total. A passionate person paid €382,000 ($413,000) for the original.
In February, over the course of just a few hours, Chastain sold 30 pieces of her private wardrobe. She uploaded them to the luxury resale platform, Vestiaire Collective. Givenchy, Alexander McQueen, Stella McCartney, Jimmy Choo… online, the circular economy, brands and myths are embroidered together.
The resale market, according to sources consulted by Vestiaire Collective, represents $202 billion, with growth that averages between 15% and 20% annually. Clothes associated with celebrities like Chastain are part of a narrative of second-hand buying and selling, all tied into the economy of infinite returns. Great fashion designers have the ability to transfer unjustly forgotten dreams from one era to another.
Pregnant, neoprene-clad model Ashleigh Good entered the Grand Palais in Paris as if it were a cathedral. She turned slightly, revealing to the spectators the face of a pregnant woman. A modern Virgin Mary.
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