Our first auction of the year is a bumper one - over 550 lots of vintage fashion, textiles and accessories – so hopefully something to interest everyone?
Stuck for something to wear to this year’s Met Gala Ball? Then look no further – see lot 183, the scarlet satin surrealist hat made to Karl Lagerfeld’s design by London milliner Kirstin Woodward in 1985. It is not only desirable as a wearable accessory but is also museum quality having previously been included in FIT’s Fashion & Surrealism exhibition, October 30, 1987-January 23, 1988. Isabelle Pascoe was photographed wearing a pink example for British Vogue, December, 1985. Vogue stated,
‘'A surreal trick of judgement with wild surmise. Surprise? Classic distortion, upholstery, plat du jour perch above the stark silhouette of something sexy and understated.'"
At Christmas, the fashion world lost its honorary Queen: Dame Vivienne Westwood and she is well represented in our sale. Highlights include Lot 160, the sleeved ‘Boucher’ corset, ‘Portrait’ collection, Autumn-Winter 1990-91, and Lot 184, which comprises a red velvet corset, ‘Harris Tweed’ collection, Autumn-Winter 1987-88 and rare ‘mini-crini’, Spring-Summer 1985. We even have a photograph showing the original beautiful owner wearing the corset, dancing the night away in the Kinky Gerlinky night club!
We offer the ‘Lucinda Portobello Collection, Part I’. Lucinda Alford was a major player in the London Vintage fashion scene for many decades. She was renowned for her exceptional eye and eclectic taste, which is evident throughout the rails filled with pretty 1930s floral chiffons, romantic Edwardian dresses, dreamy bohemian gowns and colourful prints, starkly contrasted by the brutal minimalism of pieces by one of Lucinda’s great loves: Martin Margiela.
Families gathering around their TV’s in the UK on Saturday nights during the 1960s would have been familiar with the Kaye Sisters who achieved huge fame during the late 50s and 60s with hits including 'Paper Roses’ and ‘Handed Down’. They performed in numerous Royal Command Performances at the London Palladium, as well as TV variety shows hosted by Max Bygraves and others. The three singers – Shan, Carole and Shiela, weren’t actually sisters but had matching blonde hairstyles to suggest a familial resemblance. Their preferred costumier was Douglas Darnell who also produced many of Shirley Bassey’s most glittering costumes. Shan Kaye’s razzle-dazzle stage outfits dripping in faux gems, shimmering with beads are lots 343-346.
We also feature a selection of fine antique costume & textiles from around the world, including Lot 554, a brocaded summer dragon robe - jifu, Chinese, circa 1900, Lot 539, an embroidered wool scarf, Zoroastrian, Yazd, Persia, 19th century.
We hope you enjoy browsing this sale as much as we have enjoyed creating it for you and look forward to assisting you with condition reports and bidding.
Morning session, lots 1-250, begins at 9.30am GMT. The afternoon session, lots 251-556, will begin at 2pm GMT.
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 before the sale. 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 49 - Three Hermès printed silk scarves, various dates
Sold for £190
Buyer's premium: 25% (exclusive of VAT)
Lot 50 - Three Hermès printed silk scarves, various dates
Sold for £190
Buyer's premium: 25% (exclusive of VAT)
Lot 52 - Two Hermès printed silk scarves, 1990s
Sold for £100
Buyer's premium: 25% (exclusive of VAT)
Lot 53 - An Hermès printed silk maxi Twilly, modern
Sold for £160
Buyer's premium: 25% (exclusive of VAT)
Lot 56 - An Hermès black leather belt with metal 'lock' clasp, modern
Sold for £140
Buyer's premium: 25% (exclusive of VAT)
Lot 58 - An Hermès cuff bracelet, probably 1970s
Sold for £160
Buyer's premium: 25% (exclusive of VAT)
Lot 60 - A Gucci silk scarf with floral print in original box, 2000s
Sold for £100
Buyer's premium: 25% (exclusive of VAT)
Lot 61 - A group of designer sunglasses, modern
Sold for £220
Buyer's premium: 25% (exclusive of VAT)
Lot 63 - Two Butler & Wilson rhinestone encrusted cuff bracelets, 1980s
Sold for £180
Buyer's premium: 25% (exclusive of VAT)
Lot 64 - An Iradj Moini 'black heart' brooch, 1990s
Sold for £220
Buyer's premium: 25% (exclusive of VAT)
Lot 65 - A group of mainly rhinestone costume jewellery, 1950s-1980s
Sold for £320
Buyer's premium: 25% (exclusive of VAT)
Lot 66 - A Christian Dior horn chain-link necklace, circa 1998
Sold for £120
Buyer's premium: 25% (exclusive of VAT)
Lot 67 - A group of Christian Dior and Christian Lacroix costume jewellery, 1990s
Sold for £380
Buyer's premium: 25% (exclusive of VAT)
Lot 68 - A rare Christian Dior by Henkel & Grosse gilt metal brooch, Autumn 1955
Sold for £280
Buyer's premium: 25% (exclusive of VAT)
Lot 69 - A Christian Dior by Mitchel Maer wreath brooch, 1952-56
Sold for £200
Buyer's premium: 25% (exclusive of VAT)
Lot 70 - A large group of mainly rhinestone costume jewellery, 1930s-1980s
Sold for £340
Buyer's premium: 25% (exclusive of VAT)
Lot 71 - A group of Yves Saint Laurent jewellery, 1980s-90s
Sold for £280
Buyer's premium: 25% (exclusive of VAT)
Lot 72 - A large group of mainly gilt metal jewellery, mainly 1980s
Sold for £340
Buyer's premium: 25% (exclusive of VAT)
Lot 73 - A group of mainly gilt metal jewellery, mainly 1980s
Sold for £340
Buyer's premium: 25% (exclusive of VAT)
Lot 74 - A Comme des Garçons lilac satin dress, 1990s
Sold for £320
Buyer's premium: 25% (exclusive of VAT)
Lot 75 - A group of mainly Japanese designer clothing, 1990s-modern
Sold for £380
Buyer's premium: 25% (exclusive of VAT)
Lot 77 - Two Comme des Garçons ruffled collars, 1990s
Sold for £650
Buyer's premium: 25% (exclusive of VAT)
Lot 78 - Three pairs of Comme des Garçons shoes, 1990s-modern
Sold for £100
Buyer's premium: 25% (exclusive of VAT)
Lot 79 - A group of Comme des Garçons womenswear, late 1990s-2000s
Sold for £190
Buyer's premium: 25% (exclusive of VAT)
Lot 80 - A group of Comme des Garçons menswear, 1980s-90s
Sold for £190
Buyer's premium: 25% (exclusive of VAT)
Lot 81 - A Comme des Garçons black satin dress, 1990s
Sold for £150
Buyer's premium: 25% (exclusive of VAT)
Lot 83 - A rare Comme des Garçons photographic book, 1986
Sold for £170
Buyer's premium: 25% (exclusive of VAT)
Lot 84 - A group of Issey Miyake tops and jackets, 1970s-1990s
Sold for £320
Buyer's premium: 25% (exclusive of VAT)
Lot 85 - An Ann Demeulemeester black coat, 1990s
Sold for £500
Buyer's premium: 25% (exclusive of VAT)
Lot 86 - A Martin Margiela red viscose slashed dress, Spring-Summer 2007
Sold for £550
Buyer's premium: 25% (exclusive of VAT)
Lot 87 - A Martin Margiela denim jacket, Spring-Summer 2004
Sold for £300
Buyer's premium: 25% (exclusive of VAT)
Lot 88 - A group of Martin Margiela clothing in mainly black and neutral shades, 2008
Sold for £460
Buyer's premium: 25% (exclusive of VAT)
Lot 89 - A group of Martin Margiela clothing, Autumn-Winter 2007
Sold for £320
Buyer's premium: 25% (exclusive of VAT)
Lot 90 - A Martin Margiela grey wool-cashmere jacket, Autumn-Winter 2008
Sold for £200
Buyer's premium: 25% (exclusive of VAT)
Lot 91 - A Maison Margiela charcoal-grey wool-cashmere coat, Autumn-Winter 2010
Sold for £850
Buyer's premium: 25% (exclusive of VAT)
Lot 92 - A group of Martin Margiela clothing, 2009
Sold for £280
Buyer's premium: 25% (exclusive of VAT)
Lot 93 - A Martin Margiela black wool coat, Autumn-Winter 2007
Sold for £150
Buyer's premium: 25% (exclusive of VAT)
Lot 94 - Two Maison Margiela for H&M re-issue dresses, 2012
Sold for £120
Buyer's premium: 25% (exclusive of VAT)
Lot 95 - A group of Maison Margiela for H&M clothing and accessories, 2012
Sold for £140
Buyer's premium: 25% (exclusive of VAT)
Lot 96 - A group of Maison Martin Margiela tops, circa 2004
Sold for £200
Buyer's premium: 25% (exclusive of VAT)
Lot 97 - Five Maison Margiela dresses, 2010-2015
Sold for £240
Buyer's premium: 25% (exclusive of VAT)
