It's St Valentine's Day and you know what would be great as a present for your beloved? Andy Warhol's silkscreen "Candy Box (True Love)", currently available for auction at Christie's in New York. The only downside is that most of us will not be able to afford it as it is expected to fetch between $150,000 and $200,000.
The artwork is part of an auction of over 448 lots from the collection of André Leon Talley. The late fashion journalist and former editor-at-large of US Vogue died last January at 73, so the auction is also a symbolical way to remember him.
A unique personality in the world of fashion and style, Talley was born in 1948 in Washington, D.C., but grew up in Durham, North Carolina, with his grandmother Bennie Frances Davies, and great-grandmother China. Influenced by fashion magazines, Talley majored in French studies, receiving a scholarship to Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island.
His plan was pursuing doctoral studies and becoming a French teacher, but he eventually abandoned his studies and moved to New York. Here he started working for Andy Warhol's Interview magazine and Women's Wear Daily, eventually landing at Vogue in 1983 as a fashion news editor, becoming the first Black creative director at the magazine.
The collection reflects Talley's knowledge, discerning taste, grandeur, distinction and his passion for fashion and luxury, art and photography.
In the auction there are quite a few of his bespoke theatrical capes and flowing caftans, at times decorated with rich embroideries: these garments marked his personal transition to a new style phase and suggested a sense of ceremony and formality.
Among them there are some glamorous ones like the golden brocade caftan by Dapper Dan (2007; estimate: $1,000 – $2,000) or the grand navy silk faille tiered cape by Chanel (circa 2007; estimate: $3,000 – $5,000). This is also a symbolical garment as Talley had his big break when he interviewed Karl Lagerfeld in New York. Lagerfeld was impressed by Talley's thirst for knowledge; they shared a passion for 18th century French style and that meeting became the beginning of a friendship that lasted 40 years.
For those who love the glamorous stories behind a garment, there are designs that Talley donned for Met Gala events, including a bespoke Tom Ford (who created custom Met Gala looks for Talley for nearly seven years) black silk failed full-length court coat with Watteau cathedral length train (circa 2017; $2,000 – $3,000), that Talley wore to the 2017 Met Gala celebrating the opening of The Costume Institute show "Rei Kawakubo/Comme des Garçons: Art of the In-Between".
If you love a slogan, instead, there's the black and aubergine silk satin "Climate Revolution" cloak by the late Vivienne Westwood (circa 2012-2020; $2,000 - $3,000).
Offers on some pieces are already going beyond the expectations: an iridescent green silk tiered coat by Balenciaga (circa 2006, but inspired by Balenciaga's iconic 1958 baby-doll dress) has already got an offer of $3,000. But there's more to discover among Ralph Rucci capes and Prada alligator coats.
Among the accessories on offers there are jewelry pieces, a sterling silver box by Elsa Peretti, Manolo Blahnik sandals and snakeskin evening slippers edged with crimson satin ribbon, plus groups of sunglasses, scarves and gloves, three straw boater hats with a black grosgrain ribbon, an extra-large Birkin bag, and several personalized Louis Vuitton monogrammed trunks and bags (including one featured in Talley's cameo in the 2008 Sex and the City film), some of them still with tags from his stays at the Ritz.
Among the most unusual pieces on offer there is a Chanel hot-water-bottle cover (could you believe that such an item actually existed?) and an orange Hermès bike that Talley never rode but kept in storage at the Ritz in Paris.
But the most interesting part of the exhibition is actually the art and photography selection that shows Talley's passions and tastes.
Here you will discover illustrations dedicated to the fashion editor and portraits of Talley looking elegant, wise, charming and sophisticated in his rich robes and caftans; paper collages by Yves Saint Laurent, illustrations by Karl Lagerfeld, Antonio Lopez and Ruben Toledo and photographs by Willy Maywald, Horst P. Horst, Louise Dahl-Wolfe, Arthur Elgort, Deborah Turbeville and Herb Britts among the others.
Quite a few photographs on auction portray Talley's mentor, Diana Vreeland: when Talley moved to New York, Vreeland was hiring volunteers to assist with her curation of the exhibition "Romantic and Glamorous Hollywood Design". Talley caught Vreeland's eye after he managed to reassemble together the chain mail dress worn by Lana Turner in "The Prodigal" and he became her assistant.
In The Chiffon Trenches Talley stated that he learnt from Vreeland to speak "the language of style, fantasy and literature".
Among the photographs portraying Vreeland in the auction there is one by the late Bill Cunningham showing her and a young Talley in 1974 working on the "Romantic and Glamorous Hollywood Design" exhibition.
The auction also includes Andy Warhol's "Diana Vreeland Rampant" screenprint, showing her as Napoleon at St. Bernard from Jacques Louis David's painting, a work created for the article "Bridled Passion" by Talley, published in the December 1984 issue of Vogue.
Some lots in the auction may end up fetching more than expected: Lagerfeld's creations and illustrations may become the subject of a bitter battle between collectors and museums as the Costume Institute will dedicate to the late German designer the upcoming exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York; a brick red sleeping-bag coat by Norma Kamali that Talley wore in a 2021 Ugg campaign may become more desirable now that Rihanna donned a similar one by Alaïa (allegedly inspired by this one) for her performance at the Super Bowl last Sunday.
Among the lots that may fetch more than expected there are also the blue and green canvas tote bags by L.L.Bean, embroidered with Talley's initials and the Vogue logo, a staple among the magazine's editors.
Proceeds from this estate sale - sold through a live sale at Christie's New York on February 15 and two online sales ending on February 16 and 17, expected to top $1m - will go to two historically black churches close to Talley's heart, the Abyssinian Baptist church in the Harlem neighborhood of New York and Mount Sinai Missionary Baptist church in his home town of Durham, North Carolina.
If you like watching auctions (they can be exciting affairs, even if you're not buying anything), you can follow the progress of the livestream auction here.
But what about St. Valentine's Day if you can't afford Warhol's unique, yet super expensive Valentine? Don't despair, in the auction there are selected lots of fashion books and you may try winning them. But, if you want to avoid going bankrupt, you may just go to a bookshop and pick a book about the history of fashion and costume or about the life of André Leon Talley. After all, while it would be amazing to own a unique piece of art or fashion, a book is a gift that can reward a reader with a fine education and tastes. Talley would definitely approve.
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