Date: Fri 26-Mar-1999
Date: Fri 26-Mar-1999
Publication: Ant
Author: LISA
Quick Words:
Unforgettable
Full Text:
Unforgettable
with 5 cuts
by Joel Weber with Bonnie Rosenblum
NEW YORK CITY -- For one night during the Academy Awards show, everyone gets
to be a fashion critic. And what an actress wore is often more memorable than
whether she won or lost.
The Oscarsâ are the "Super Bowl" of dressing up. It's Hollywood glamour and
offers the kind of clothes little girls (and some grown-up women) dream about.
At Christie's on March 18, 56 of those dreams went on the auction block in a
charity event called "Unforgettable: Fashion of the Oscarsâ," a sale that was
about much more than just fashion. It was a reflection of our cultural
fascination with celebrity and celebrity belongings.
What is celebrity status really worth in terms of the value of an item? Screen
legend Elizabeth Taylor's violet chiffon dress, designed by Edith Head (to
match her eyes and highlight her diamond) brought $167,500. The buyer?
Toymaker Mattel.
The chiffon was one of two Taylor dresses to be offered; the other was a pink
silk taffeta evening dress by Nolan Miller that brought $25,300.
On the other hand, the less legendary Anne Jeffreys' orange Luis Esteves
A-line gown from the 1960s rang up only $2,300.
All the garments featured were actually worn at the Oscarâ presentations. They
were donated either by the actresses themselves or the fashion houses that
created them. Most were fairly recent.
There was no real precedent for the event, except perhaps for the 80 garments
from the closet of Diana, Princess of Wales, sold at Christie's in June. That
was an auction that shattered world records.
Most of the lots at this most recent sale of celebrity fashions didn't
approach Diana money. The 1969 Elizabeth Taylor by Edith Head was the second
highest price ever paid for a dress at auction. It fell far short of the
record $222,000 paid for the dress Princess Di wore to the White House.
But it appears at least one record was broken: Lauren Bacall's sumptuous red
Fortuny sleeveless Delphos dress -- the evening's very first lot -- brought
$19,550 from a private collector. That is roughly ten times what a comparable
Fortuny might bring on the open market today.
According to Valerie Steele, curator of the Museum at the Fashion Institute of
Technology in New York City, the Fortuny market has softened considerably
since the 1980s. Obviously the status of Bacall had a big impact on the price.
Museum Interest?
Steele also said that she had not heard of real museum interest in the dresses
of the stars from other curators. But some insiders believed that the
Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume Institute might enter the bidding for the
ensemble worn by Madonna last year.
Interest in the ensemble went beyond the mystique of pop icon. The designers
were Belgian Olivier Threskell (perceived as an up-and-comer) and the often
quirky couturier Jean Paul Gaultier.
"It would have been on my wish list, "Steele said. "I wouldn't have been
surprised if some museums weren't trying to line up angels for several of the
celebrity-worn items."
The Buyers
Madonna's outfit may someday end up in a museum, but its next home will be the
Home Shopping Network, which paid $79,500, the second highest price at the
sale.
Media bidders were very active. American Movie Classics and the Romance
Channel (owned by the same company) bought three dresses. For the Romance
Channel, it was the brilliantly constructed green gown and jacket by Alexander
McQueen for Givenchy worn by Titanic star Kate Winslett last year. They paid
$57,500, the third highest price of the sale.
American Movie Classics (AMC) bought Janet Leigh's 1959 silver-beaded Edith
Head gown for the fourth highest price of the event - $34,500. They also
purchased, for $9,200, one of the earliest and most unusual garments: the
ivory, beaded cocktail dress Jamie Lee Curtis wore in 1983. Originally
designed by Jean Louis for Marlene Dietrich and worn in a 1942 film, the dress
had been reworked by Curtis in 1983.
Romance Classics/AMC was also quite active at the Diana auction and bought two
of the more expensive garments.
"We're delighted with the Jamie Lee Curtis and Janet Leigh dresses," a
spokeswoman said. "They represent early Hollywood and the mother-and-daughter
connection is a very nice touch."
She said the dresses would be used in promotional and charity work.
One of the most popular dresses at last year's ceremonies was Minnie Driver's
slinky red gown by Randolph Duke for Halston. It fetched $16,100 and will
shortly be decorating the lobby of People magazine, alongside one of Princess
Di's dresses.
Under the Money
This was an auction with no pre-sale estimates and no reserves, and there were
several items that did not come close to the numbers the experts thought they
might bring.
The sixth highest price, $27,500, was paid for the sexy, slinky number worn by
singer Celine Dion last year. Designed (and donated) by Chanel's influential
Karl Lagerfeld, it is believed that the garment cost somewhere between $60,000
and $80,000 originally.
Hamish Bowles, Vogue's European editor at large, cited it as one of several
dresses that went for well under collecting value. Bowles is a serious
collector of vintage couture and wrote the introductory copy for the auction's
catalogue.
Bowles noted two other dresses. The first, a couture Christian LaCroix black
gazer and organza and gauze worn by Kristin Scott-Thomas in 1996, brought only
$9,975, a bargain for a couture garment. The other, a silk coat and dress by
the recently retired California designer James Calanos, worn by Jennifer Jones
in 1997, sold for only $2,530.
"The LaCroix black gazar is a phenomenal dress. Wonderful construction,"
Bowles. "The Galanos was a bargain."
Going For the Gold
In 1994, Australian costume designer Lizzy Garniner knocked Hollywood on its
ear with her dress made of 171 American Expressâ Gold Cards. A replica of that
dress was offered at this sale, but it came with a warning that the dress
could not be used for any commercial or promotional purposes. Sort of "Don't
leave home...with it (at least if you're trying to sell something)." That
warning may have depressed the price, which was $12,650. American Expressâ
owns the original.
There was much active phone bidding and, in most cases, it was hard to get a
handle on exactly who the buyers were. Our guess is that we will be seeing
many of the garments again in various promotional and fund-raising activities.
The last lot was fun and a real departure. It was a mystery dress and its
exact nature was not revealed until it was ready to be sold. The turntable
swivelled to an empty dress form and it was announced that the lot would be
the garment Cate Blanchett, nominated for her role in Elizabeth, wore to this
year's ceremony on March 21. Bidding was spirited and the price reached
$17,250.
The Auction Wrap-Up
Most of the lots went for between $3,000 and $10,000. In some cases, one
wondered if the bidders were interested in the celebrity cache or were just
vying for a pretty dress. For the most part, prices across the board were much
higher than one would expect at an auction of comparable examples without the
celebrity mystique.
It is difficult to relate the prices realized at Christie's to the day in/day
out dynamics of the antique fashions market place. One principle difference
between the Oscarâ dress auction and top-end vintage fashion is that sales is
the focus of the bidders. While a provenance can add considerably to the value
of the garment, typically bidders are more often concerned with who did it,
rather than who wore it. Another difference is that a celebrity auction often
brings out corporate money and a different breed of collector.
Thus, even though a world record may have been set for Lauren Bacall's
Fortuny, it is not likely that record will have any impact on the market price
for similar garments.
This charity auction benefited the American Foundation for Aids Research
(AmfAR) and when it was all over, there were many smiling faces, as $786,120
was raised.