CASTION OFF: Suzy Menkes is set to part with some of the most treasured items in her wardrobe come July with an online-only auction at Christie’s London.
Menkes, the veteran journalist who last week was named international fashion editor of the soon-to-debut International New York Times, is parting ways with suits from Yves Saint Laurent, dresses by Christian Lacroix and printed, floor-sweeping numbers from Ossie Clark.
Bidding for the 80-plus lots, which also include a quilted Chanel clutch with “SUZY” written in gold letters across the front, and an Hermès silk scarf and shirt, will open at 7:00 p.m. GMT on July 11 and close at 3:00 p.m. GMT on July 22.
Estimates start at 200 pounds, or $302 at current exchange, with the majority on offer for less than 1,000 pounds, or $1,512. According to Christie’s, the star lot of the sale is an Yves Saint Laurent cocktail jacket from the designer’s 1980 collection, Le Soleil.
“I have never thrown anything out of my wardrobe since 1964,” Menkes said. “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, said: “I knew that this was not going to be a wardrobe full of fashionable black uniforms. As [Suzy] says, clothes are like friends — in this case good friends who conjure up good times.”
Frost called Menkes an “early adopter” of Christian Lacroix. “She is selling more than 10 pieces from his most formative period, as well as gems from Yves Saint Laurent. Christie’s is very much looking forward to the conversations these pieces have already started,” Frost added.