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.
Lot 49 - A large group of summer dresses, mainly floral printed, 1930s
Sold for £850
Buyer's premium: 25% (exclusive of VAT)
Lot 50 - A good group of day and dinner wear, 1930s
Sold for £650
Buyer's premium: 25% (exclusive of VAT)
Lot 52 - Eight good dinner dresses, mainly black, 1930s
Sold for £1,500
Buyer's premium: 25% (exclusive of VAT)
Lot 53 - A Worth couture floral printed silk-crêpe dinner dress, mid 1930s
Sold for £420
Buyer's premium: 25% (exclusive of VAT)
Lot 54 - A good floral printed chiffon garden-party gown in shades of blue and yellow, 1930s
Sold for £280
Buyer's premium: 25% (exclusive of VAT)
Lot 55 - A good bias-cut floral printed chiffon garden-party gown with matching bolero, 1930s
Sold for £250
Buyer's premium: 25% (exclusive of VAT)
Lot 56 - Three floral printed chiffon garden-party dresses, 1930s
Sold for £260
Buyer's premium: 25% (exclusive of VAT)
Lot 58 - Two bias-cut floral printed chiffon dresses in autumnal shades, 1930s
Sold for £220
Buyer's premium: 25% (exclusive of VAT)
Lot 59 - Three bias-cut dresses in shades of orange, brown and yellow, 1930s
Sold for £320
Buyer's premium: 25% (exclusive of VAT)
Lot 60 - A good bias-cut floral printed crêpe dress, 1930s
Sold for £400
Buyer's premium: 25% (exclusive of VAT)
Lot 62 - A large quantity of mainly 1930s damaged dresses and remnants
Sold for £650
Buyer's premium: 25% (exclusive of VAT)
Lot 63 - A group of bras and girdles, dating from the 1930s to the 1960s
Sold for £750
Buyer's premium: 25% (exclusive of VAT)
Lot 64 - A group of kimonos and housecoats, mainly 1930s
Sold for £550
Buyer's premium: 25% (exclusive of VAT)
Lot 65 - A good group of lingerie, mainly 1930s
Sold for £800
Buyer's premium: 25% (exclusive of VAT)
Lot 66 - A group of knitwear in autumnal shades, mainly 1930s
Sold for £850
Buyer's premium: 25% (exclusive of VAT)
Lot 67 - A large group of interesting blouses and bodices, mainly 1930s
Sold for £700
Buyer's premium: 25% (exclusive of VAT)
Lot 68 - A dressing gown printed with Walt Disney's 'Snow White' characters, circa 1937
Sold for £320
Buyer's premium: 25% (exclusive of VAT)
Lot 69 - An early Victor Stiebel velvet evening coat, early 1930s
Sold for £300
Buyer's premium: 25% (exclusive of VAT)
Lot 70 - A group of mainly velvet eveningwear in shades of black and pink, late 1930s-1940s
Sold for £440
Buyer's premium: 25% (exclusive of VAT)
Lot 72 - Eight mainly printed summer day dresses, 1940s
Sold for £480
Buyer's premium: 25% (exclusive of VAT)
Lot 73 - A large group of interesting blouses and bodices, mainly 1940s
Sold for £600
Buyer's premium: 25% (exclusive of VAT)
Lot 74 - Seven mainly black crêpe dinner dresses, 1940s
Sold for £440
Buyer's premium: 25% (exclusive of VAT)
Lot 75 - A group of daywear, some with interesting prints, 1940s
Sold for £700
Buyer's premium: 25% (exclusive of VAT)
Lot 77 - A good general group of lingerie, mainly 1940s
Sold for £650
Buyer's premium: 25% (exclusive of VAT)
Lot 78 - Five printed housecoats/kimonos, 1940s
Sold for £500
Buyer's premium: 25% (exclusive of VAT)
Lot 79 - A group of printed and embroidered mainly silk kimonos, 1940s-50s
Sold for £440
Buyer's premium: 25% (exclusive of VAT)
Lot 80 - A group of day and evening bags, mainly late 1930s and 1940s
Sold for £280
Buyer's premium: 25% (exclusive of VAT)
Lot 81 - An Irene striped wool jacket, late 1940s
Sold for £130
Buyer's premium: 25% (exclusive of VAT)
Lot 83 - A Jean Dessès couture black chiffon cocktail dress,1956
Sold for £600
Buyer's premium: 25% (exclusive of VAT)
Lot 84 - A Balenciaga couture orange ottoman-silk tent coat, late 1950s
Sold for £900
Buyer's premium: 25% (exclusive of VAT)
Lot 85 - A Balmain couture ivory satin cocktail dress, early 1960s
Sold for £1,100
Buyer's premium: 25% (exclusive of VAT)
Lot 86 - Ten bridal or ball gowns/dresses, 1950s-early 1960s
Sold for £900
Buyer's premium: 25% (exclusive of VAT)
Lot 87 - A large group of summer clothing, mainly 1950s
Sold for £1,100
Buyer's premium: 25% (exclusive of VAT)
Lot 88 - A group of fancy-dress costumes, 1920s-50s
Sold for £500
Buyer's premium: 25% (exclusive of VAT)
Lot 89 - A Pierre Balmain red grosgrain silk dress, early 1950s
Sold for £280
Buyer's premium: 25% (exclusive of VAT)
Lot 90 - Two Hardy Amies ensembles believed to have belonged to Vivien Leigh, early 1950s
Sold for £240
Buyer's premium: 25% (exclusive of VAT)
Lot 91 - A Bill Blass black sequinned cocktail ensemble, late 1960s-early 1970s
Sold for £320
Buyer's premium: 25% (exclusive of VAT)
Lot 92 - A group of mostly designer tailoring and dresses, 1960s-1970s
Sold for £700
Buyer's premium: 25% (exclusive of VAT)
Lot 93 - A Traina-Norell black boucle wool cocoon-shaped cape, late 1950s
Sold for £650
Buyer's premium: 25% (exclusive of VAT)
Lot 94 - A Lanvin Castillo ivory silk evening-gown flocked with velvet ivy, mid 1960s
Sold for £350
Buyer's premium: 25% (exclusive of VAT)
Lot 95 - Three Leonard printed jersey dresses and a sarong, 1960s
Sold for £460
Buyer's premium: 25% (exclusive of VAT)
Lot 96 - Three Pucci printed cotton bikinis, 1960s
Sold for £750
Buyer's premium: 25% (exclusive of VAT)
