Auction news and archive

The fashion collector: A buyer like any other?

With the rise of the secondhand market (six billion euro turnover in France in the ready-to-wear segment alone), a marked taste for the antique, the rare, and the unique has developed. In other words, vintage fashion has captured a wide audience that seems more drawn to the allure of collecting than to the dictates of trends. A growing number of...

Fashion

Mysterious 18th century diamond necklace set for auction

London - A mysterious 18th century necklace made from around 500 diamonds, some of which are believed to have been taken from a piece that contributed to Marie Antoinette's demise, will go on sale in November, Sotheby's said on Monday. The piece, from a private Asian collection, will go under the hammer in Geneva on November 11, with online...

Business

Christie's opens regional headquarters in Hong Kong, banking on rebound in art sales

Hong Kong - British auction house Christie's opened a new regional headquarters in Hong Kong on Friday, banking on a rebound in sales in Asia-Pacific despite a struggling global art market. After Phillips and Sotheby's, Christie's - owned by French billionaire François Pinault's holding company Artémis - is the third major auction house to set...

Fashion

Mulberry founder Roger Saul to auction off personal archive

Mulberry’s founder Roger Saul is actioning off pieces from his personal archive at London-based auction house Dreweatts next month. The auction will take place on August 7 and features pieces from Saul’s personal Mulberry archive, collected over 50 years, including handbags, fashion, shoes, luggage and accessories, as well as home interiors,...

Fashion Featured

Princess Diana auction shows influence of monarchy on popular culture

In a dazzling celebration of royal style, a curated collection of Princess Diana's most memorable ensembles has been captivating audiences in Asia and Europe before heading to auction today. This sartorial journey, which began with a pop-up at Hong Kong's K11 MUSEA in April, followed by an exhibition at Ireland's Museum of Style Icons in June,...

Fashion

Vivienne Westwood’s personal wardrobe to be auctioned

The personal wardrobe of the late British designer Dame Vivienne Westwood is to be auctioned at Christie’s this summer. The landmark sale will raise funds for the causes Dame Vivienne championed throughout her life, with proceeds directed towards supporting The Vivienne Foundation, Amnesty International, Médecins Sans Frontières, and Greenpeace....

Culture|In Pictures

Downton Abbey, Peaky Blinders and more: 60 film costumes to go up for auction

Cosprop and Kerry Taylor Auctions have announced that they are preparing to host an auction of iconic film and television costumes running from February 22 to March 10, during which time a live auction will also take place on March 5 where pieces will also be available to bid on. All of the 60 items – some costumes, some film memorabilia –...

People

Arnold Schwarzenegger held over luxury watch at Munich airport

Hollywood action hero Arnold Schwarzenegger was held at Munich airport on Wednesday for failing to declare an expensive watch, a customs spokesman told AFP. The Austrian-born actor and former governor of California, 76, was detained in the customs area on Wednesday afternoon after arriving from the United States, spokesman Thomas Meister said....

Fashion

CFDA and Sotheby’s celebrate Defining American Style auction

Ahead of the upcoming New York Fashion Week, the event’s organiser Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA) had already set out to celebrate American fashion through the opening of an exhibition honouring designers from the region. The display was held as a preview to luxury auction house Sotheby’s latest sale, ‘Vision of America’, which...

Fashion

A rare blue diamond sold for over 40 million dollars at auction

A rare 17.61-carat pear-shaped blue diamond named Bleu Royal has set a record by selling for over 40 million dollars (32 million pounds) at a Christie's auction in Geneva. The diamond, part of a private collection for 50 years, achieved a sale price of 43.8 million dollars and is now considered the "largest internally flawless fancy vivid blue...

Business|EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW Featured

Auction trends: How important are fashion and accessories? Exclusive Interview with Alice Léger from Artcurial

As fashion and accessories have become increasingly popular in the world of auctions, many are keen to understand their growing influence. To delve into the significance and workings of these markets, FashionUnited spoke with Alice Léger, the head of the Fashion and Accessories department at Artcurial, the third largest global auction house,...

Business

Princess Diana's sweater fetched one million, over ten times more than expected

A jumper belonging to Princess Diana fetched 1.1 million dollars at Sotheby's, according to the auction house's website. That is 10 times more than Sotheby's initial estimate, which expected proceeds of between 50,000 and 80,000 dollars. A newly engaged Diana wore the jersey to Prince Charles' polo match in 1981. The sheep depicted on the jersey...