Christie's Announces - In My Fashion: The Suzy Menkes Collection, Only-Only Sale, 11-22 July 2013

7/30/2019 Christie's Announces - In My Fashion: The Suzy Menkes Collection, Only-Only Sale, 11-22 July 2013

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P R E S S R E L E A S E | L O N D O N

F O R I M M E D I A T E R E L E A S E : T u e s d a y , 2 8 M a y 2 0 1 3

CHRISTIE’S PRESENTS

IN MY FASHION: The Suzy Menkes Collection

ONLINE-ONLY SALE, 11-22 JULY 2013

“This auction

provides an

opportunity for myclothes to walk outin the sunshine, todance the nightaway and to givesomeone else thejoy that they gaveto me.”

©Image by Zoe Hitchen for SHOWstudio

Christie’s Online-Only – Christie’s is pleased to announce a first for the international fashion world: the single-

owner online-only auction of IN MY FASHION: The Suzy Menkes Collection , which will open for bids on 11 July

and run for two weeks until 22 July 2013. Awarded an O.B.E by Her Majesty the Queen (Order of the British

Empire) for her services to journalism in 2005, and made a Chevalier de la Legion d’Honneur in France the

same year, Suzy Menkes is an iconic fashion journalist who is held in the highest esteem by designers, models,

fellow journalists and fashion followers around the globe. Comprising just over 80 lots, the collection features an

inspiring array of dresses, coats, skirts, tops, jackets and accessories by a cross spectrum of the most revered

names in fashion from Ossie Clark and Emilio Pucci, to Yves Saint Laurent and Christian Lacroix. All the pieceshighlight Suzy’s belief s that colour and pattern make every day joyous and that clothes are like friends: they have

to complement your personality, your hopes and desires. Estimates for individual lots start at £200, with the

majority on offer for under £1,000. The star lot of the sale is an Yves Saint Laurent cocktail jacket from his 1980

collection 'le soleil' (estimate: £1,000-2,000, illustrated on page 3 ).

Suzy Menkes noted: “ I have never thrown anything out of my wardrobe since 1964. If I had a large open space in my home, I

would dedicate it, like an art gallery, to my collection. But there is something sad about clothes laid in a tomb of trunks. They need to

live again and this auction provides the opportunity for them to walk out in the sunshine, to dance the night away and to give

someone else the joy that they gave to me.”



Pat Frost, Director of Christie’s Fashion Department commented: “There are some people who seem to see further than others and Suzy Menkes is one of those. Whenever you speak to her – on the occasion of the Anna Piaggi and Daphne Guinness sales, for example – you always get something beyond the ordinary run of conversation. You can always rely on her to put a

collection into context and see beyond the hype. I was therefore delighted when she told us she had decided to entrust Christie‟s with

the sale of her wardrobe, as I knew that this was not going to be a wardrobe full of fashionable black uniforms. As she says, clothes

are like friends – in this case good friends who conjure up good times.

Suzy was an „early adopter‟ of Christian Lacroix, who embodies in his designs her lo ve of colour and embellishment. She is selling more than ten pieces from his most formative period, as well as gems from Yves Saint Laurent, including a „Soleil‟ jacket and some

key tuxedo trouser suits. There are also summery Pucci printed outfits dating from her Cambridge friendship with Emilio Pucci‟s

niece in the 1960s and Ossie Clark's from Swinging 1970s London. Christie‟s is very much looking forward to the conversations

these pieces have already started.”

SWINGING LONDON

Suzy Menkes recalled: “Night for day was the story of the 1960‟s when

Ossie Clark and

Bill Gibb offered luscious satin and velvet

and clothes that were sensual rather

than sensible. I remember jumping

on a bus along the King‟s

Road, Chelsea wearing a

vibrantly printed Ossie

satin blazer and a floor sweeping skirt. I

don‟t think anyone

even turned round.”

The very same romantic cream silk crepe full length Ossie Clark dress

printed with a Celia Birtwell floral design, with a matching quilted jacket(estimate: £1,000-2,000, illustrated top left ) is offered alongside further

Ossie highlights including an early 1970s wrap-around black, diaphanous

chiffon gown printed with a Celia Birtwell tulip motif (estimate: £1,000-

2,000, illustrated above right ). Bill Gibb was pre-eminent among London’s

elite designers for his flowing knitted ensembles and embroidered, butter

soft leathers exemplified by a three quarter length, café au lait brown

suede coat with fur collar, embroidered with peacocks (estimate: £250-

350, illustrated left, with detail above ).



ALL THE NEW THAT’S FIT TO PRINT

Suzy Menkes stated: “ Being a maximalist by nature, I have always been drawn

to print. From the day that I made friends with Idanna Pucci at Cambridge and she

drove me to Florence in her Fiat 500, I fell in love with patterns. I even like

black and white – as long as it is in dog tooth

check, preferably mixed with stripes.”

Such a combination isexemplified by a dramatic

Christian Lacroix printed

silk ensemble with

matching over-sized handbag,

1980s (estimate: £300 – 500,

illustrated far left ).

Transporting one’s imagination

straight back to that fateful Fiat

500 journey, is a classic 1960s

Emilio Pucci sleeveless summer

dress of silk jersey, which is

printed in bright colours with a floral meander and Emilio

signatures, trimmed with a matching belt fastening with a

rouleau bow (estimate: £250 – 350, illustrated above right ).

A tailored three quarter length multi-coloured trench coat in harlequin printed wool by Paul Smith, 2004

(estimate: £200 – 400, illustrated above, centre ) provides a further riotous celebration of colour, reminiscent of a

modernist painting.

THE CUTTING

EDGE

Suzy Menkes explains: “ I loved Yves

Saint Laurent for dressing a woman for the

boardroom and the boudoir. Since I was

juggling husband, job and bringing up three

boys, I never got much further than tailored

trouser suits for the office. They were the

workhorses of my wardrobe. But occasionally

the jacket broke out into a sunburst of color

and embroidery. Divine! ”

A 1980s Yves Saint Laurent ivory trouser suit composed of straight trousers and a tailored

jacket with deep-knotched lapels conjures this time and is also reminiscent of the white

trouser suits Bianca Jagger was pictured in at Studio 54 (estimate: £300 – 500 , illustrated left ).



Further Yves Saint Laurent highlights include a cocktail jacket from his 1980 collection 'le soleil' (estimate:

estimate: £1,000-2,000, illustrated page 3 far right ). Boasting a pistachio green body with candy pink and blue

sleeves and embroidered with a sequined sun collar and cuffs in homage to Schiaparelli, this is the jacket that

Suzy wore to her first catwalk show as Fashion Editor of the International Herald Tribune in 1988. Capturing

the very essence of classic Chanel is a 1980s ivory wool jacket, trimmed with plaited black braid, black buttons

with gilt wire, appliqué endless knots and weighted with a gilt chain at the hem (estimate: £300-500, illustrated

page 3 centre ).

ACCESSORIES

Suzy Menkes noted: “I have never been a „bag lady‟ – toting

around a one season wonder to wear with a pair of jeans and a

leather jacket. My style has always been to choose the charming

and quirky, with the least logos, rather than the „it‟ bag. F or

jewellery, my taste is bold. And I think that Hermès scarves are so perfectly

framed that they ought to hang on a wall, rather than just around my neck.”

An example of such masterful Hermès design is highlighted by

a ‘Napoleon’ silk scarf which is offered as a single lot alongside

a printed silk shirt (estimate: £300-500, illustrated right ).

Playful accessories range from a personalised Chanel ‘Suzy’

clutch bag, with gilt lettering, in quilted satin, with diamond

stitching, from the 1980s

(estimate:£1,000-3,000,

illustrated left ), to a pair of

Christian Dior sunglasses

which are offered as a

single lot with a scarf

(estimate: £200-400,

illustrated above right ).

Please click here for a link to Christie’s IN MY FASHION: The Suzy Menkes Collection web page for more

information.

PRESS CONTACT: Hannah Schweiger |+44 (0)20 7389 2964| [email protected]

Public Exhibition:Select highlights will be on view in London12 – 16 July 2013 at Christie’s South Kensington

Auction: IN MY FASHION: The Suzy Menkes Collection Bidding opens: 7pm GMT 11 July 2013Bidding closes: 22 July 2013, 3PM GMT(London)/10AM EST (New York)Link to web page: http://christies.com/suzymenkes

http://christies.com/suzymenkes


mailto:[email protected]











ABOUT SUZY MENKES:

Born in Britain, Suzy Menkes has been the Fashion Editor for the International Herald Tribune since 1988. As a teenager in the 1960s, she went to study dressmaking in Paris, where she attended her first couture show at Nina Ricci – this

sparked an insatiable interest in and passion for high fashion. Upon returning from Paris, Suzy read history and English literature at

Cambridge University. Having graduated, she worked for The Times of London reporting on fashion (1966-69); was fashion editor

for The Evening Standard (1969-77); women's editor for the Daily Express (1977-80); fashion editor for The Times (1980-87); and

fashion editor for The Independent (1987-88); she is also a contributor to the New York Times ‘T Magazine’.

Honours and awards:Suzy was awarded Freeman of Milan (1987); a chevalier of the Legion d'Honneur by President Jacques Chirac of France (2005); an

O.B.E by Her Majesty the Queen of England in 2005 (Order of the British Empire) for her services to journalism; and, in January

2013, the Fiorino d'Oro Award by mayor Matteo Renzi at the Palazzo Vecchio; this is the highest Florentine honour, it was awarded

in recognition of Suzy Menkes’s outstanding contribution to culture and arts in the city.

In addition to her journalism, Suzy has written several books, particularly on British Royal style: The Knitwear Revolution (1983), The Royal Jewels (1985), The Windsor Style (1987), Queen and Country (1992).

PAST IMPORTANT SINGLE-OWNER FASHION COLLECTIONS AT CHRISTIE’S: The Daphne Guinness Collection; Sold to Benefit the Isabella Blow Foundation – 27 June 2012 The Collection of Elizabeth Taylor – 14 & 15 December 2011 The Anna Piaggi Collection – 3 December 2009

A selection from the personal wardrobe of Erin O’Connor – 16 September 2008Resurrection: Avant-Garde Fashion – 30 October 2008 The Nan Kempner Collection – 1-2 October 2007Dame Shirley Bassey – 50 Years of Glittering Gowns – 18 September 2003 Vivienne Westwood Archive from 1985-1995 – 4 September 2001 The Dame Margot Fonteyn Collection – 12 December 2000 The Personal Property of Marilyn Monroe – 27 & 28 October 1999Unforgettable: Fashion of the Oscars – 18 March 1999Dresses from the Collection of Diana, Princess of Wales – 25 June 1997 The Chanel Wardrobe and Casket of Costume Jewellery – 2 December 1978

CHRISTIE’S FASHION Introduced in 1975, Christie’s Fashion, Costume and Textiles Department and the South Kensington saleroom were establishedsimultaneously. Since then, the department has secured Christie’s place in the auction market as one of the top destinations for

collectors of couture, costume, textiles and accessories. Today, the department contributes to numerous sales each year, offering items from all over the world, and featuring in no less than twenty-five auctions in 2011 including The Collection of Elizabeth Taylor, as well as Christie’s annual Fashion sale, the bi -annual Elegance sale of Hermès handbags, and Interiors, Chinese and Indianand Islamic sales; estimates start from £500. Focusing on the best of the best, items featured in Christie’s sales date from the 17thcentury right up to the present day, and range from haute couture and fashion pieces, through to historical clothing, handbags andluggage, and costume jewellery, as well as tapestries, samplers and more. The allure of Christie’s fashion sales dra ws Internationalcouture collectors and fashion lovers, as well as institutions, offering both ready-to-wear and museum-quality pieces.

About Christie’sChristie’s, the world's leading art business, had global auction and private sales in 2012 that total led £3.92 billion/$6.27 billion.Christie’s is a name and place that speaks of extraordinary art, unparalleled service and expertise, as well as international glamour.Founded in 1766 by James Christie, Christie's has since conducted the greatest and most celebrated auctions through the centuriesproviding a popular showcase for the unique and the beautiful. Christie’s offers over 450 auctions annually in over 80 catego ries,including all areas of fine and decorative arts, jewellery, photographs, collectibles, wine, and more. Prices range from $200 to over$100 million. Christie's also has a long and successful history conducting private sales for its clients in all categories, with emphasison Post-War and Contemporary, Impressionist and Modern, Old Masters and Jewellery. Private sales totaled £631.3 million/$1billion in 2012, an increase of 26% on the same period last year.

Christie’s has a global presence with 53 offices in 32 countries and 10 salerooms around the world including in London, New Y ork,Paris, Geneva, Milan, Amsterdam, Dubai, Zürich, and Hong Kong. More recently, Christie’s has led in growth markets such asRussia, China, India and the Middle East, with successful sales, exhibitions and initiatives in Moscow, Baku, Beijing, Mumbai, Delhi, Jeddah, Abu Dhabi, Doha and Dubai.

*Estimates do not include buyer’s premium. Sales totals are hammer price plus buyer’s premium and do not reflect costs, financ ing fees or application of buyer’s or seller’s credits.

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Visit Christie‟s Website at www.christies.com

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Christie's Announces - In My Fashion: The Suzy Menkes Collection, Only-Only Sale, 11-22 July 2013