We are pleased to announce that this bumper sale features 445 lots of tantalizing textiles and fashion from every decade and period. This sale includes two very different private collections: the first is a fashion archive which forms almost 200 lots of this sale. Carefully and lovingly compiled over several decades, the collection begins in the early 19th century, with every decade thereafter well represented, right through to the 1980s. With a focus on the 19th century, 1930s and 1970s, there are rails upon rails of Victorian and Edwardian fashions, glamorous gowns in lamé and velvet, as well as pieces by Ossie Clark, Yves Saint Laurent Rive Gauche and British boutique designers. As part of this single owner collection we include boxes overflowing with dazzling but damaged 1920s flapper dresses and 30s bias-cut gowns which are excellent as construction references or for use as trimmings or for repair. Sure to catch the eye of collectors and designers alike, this collection also features over 200 pairs of shoes - to be sold in group lots - which span a century of fashion history.
Lots 284-331 comprise the second exciting private collection: the wardrobe of John Cowell (part 1), featuring over 50 lots of superb menswear from the 1980s-2000s by Jean-Paul Gaultier, Alexander McQueen, Vivienne Westwood, John Galliano and others. These will appeal to museums and modern dandies alike. Mr Cowell is a costume designer and renowned textile artist specializing in hand-painted textiles, special dye effects and customized fabric treatments for both stage and film. During his illustrious career he has worked on films including ‘The Favourite’, ‘Gangs of New York’, ‘The Young Victoria’, ‘Mary Poppins Returns’ and ‘Star Wars – The Phantom Menace’, to name but a few. After each production was finished, he liked to celebrate by going shopping for some eye-catching menswear. Some ensembles were worn just a few times, others never. His reason for selling? He tells us he is now ‘too old and too fat’ and wants others to enjoy them!
For the final chapter of the sale - lots 405-440 - we present the second chapter of the late Dr Joan Coleman Shawl Collection, with good examples of Spitalfields, Kashmir, Norwich, woven and printed Paisley and Edinburgh shawls dating from 1800-1860s.
We hope you enjoy perusing this glorious treasure-trove of a sale. Do get in touch to request condition reports and to place bids. We look forward to hearing from you!
For more information on how to bid, please click here. If you wish to participate in live online bidding on the day, you must register via Invaluable here.
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