A Cache of Couture at Christie's
Fashion devotees seeking to own a part of the late Yves Saint Laurent's oeuvre will find a small but impressive collection within the sale of Interiors beginning today at Christie's. This auction marks the first time the New York house is selling vintage couture from multiple owners.
Heuichul Kim
A pair of Yves Saint Laurent 'mosaic' style multi-color glass stone ear clips (late 1980s), estimated at between $800 and $1,200, is featured in a Christie's sale of Interiors.
The pieces span the decades of Saint Laurent's illustrious career. In 1958, he took over the reins at Christian Dior, before launching his own couture label in 1962. Bidders will find a beaded tulle dress embellished with pink sequins, estimated at between $1,000 and $1,500, which Saint Laurent created during his first year at Dior. A pair of his mosaic multicolor glass stone ear clips dangling from a 3-inch drop, estimated at between $800 and $1,200, are the 1980s version of today's chandelier earrings. From the 1970s is a cable-knit sweater in camel with cuffs and a collar sprouting fox fur, estimated at between $250 and $400; Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis reportedly bought it in several colors.
But YSL is not the only couturier represented: Dresses, coats, accessories, and jewels by Balenciaga, Versace, Halston, Courreges, and Roberto Capucci are also up for sale. The dizzying array of designers is matched by a mix of trends: A cache of 1960s day dresses from A La Carte, the now-defunct Upper East Side boutique, is just as attractive as a black Hermès crocodile "sac cordeliere" (1961), estimated at between $2,000 and $3,000. But French Designer Thierry Mugler's electric-pink strapless cocktail dress — throbbing at the bodice with a red satin heart, estimated at between $600 and $800 — recalls the early-1990s supermodel era.
Couture collectors and dealers can expect to see garments in superior condition, though some of the handbags are showing their age.
Christie's, 20 Rockefeller Plaza, between Fifth and Sixth avenues, 212-636-2032.
