HOMAGE TO KARL: Sotheby’s is kicking off a series of auction sales in Europe of Karl Lagerfeld’s estate with a dinner in Monaco on Thursday fit for the late designer himself.
Some 100 guests are expected to attend the supper at the One Monte-Carlo conference center, to be hosted by Mario Tavella, chairman of Sotheby’s Europe and president of Sotheby’s France, and Pierre Mothes, vice president of Sotheby’s France, in the presence of Princess Caroline of Monaco.
It will be preceded by a cocktail and private view of the lots that will go under the hammer in five separate sales in Monaco, scheduled to take place between Dec. 3 and 5.
Event organizer Françoise Dumas said the dinner was designed as an homage to Lagerfeld, who lived on and off in Monaco, in residences including La Vigie, a villa perched on a cliff top above Monte-Carlo Beach Club, and an apartment decorated entirely in Memphis furniture.
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“We are going to do the tables in the spirit of Karl, as an homage to our dear Karl,” Dumas said. “We’re using these white embroidered tablecloths that he adored, that he would source at antique stores.”
The table of honor, meanwhile, will be decked out with silver chandeliers by Georg Jensen that are listed in the catalogue of the sale, valued at between 8,000 euros and 12,000 euros.
Tables will be set up in the exhibition space conceived by interior designers Emil Humbert and Christophe Poyet of Humbert & Poyet. The duo said they were inspired by the sets of Lagerfeld’s fashion shows for the decor, which mixes black and white, transparency, mirrors and lights, all set off by a reflective ceiling.
Lagerfeld’s three Rolls-Royces, among the star lots in the sale, will be on display in front of the Hôtel Fairmont Monte-Carlo.
Sotheby’s plans to host eight auction sales in Europe for a collection spanning more than 1,000 items, including exceptional furniture from the 20th and 21st centuries, fine art, collectibles, tableware and personal objects, including more than 200 pairs of fingerless gloves, piles of Goyard luggage and a selection of designer suit jackets.
Further auctions are scheduled for Dec. 14 to 15 in Paris, and in spring 2022 in Cologne, Germany. There are two online sales sessions, the first from Nov. 26 to Dec. 6, and the second from Dec. 6 to 16.
Lagerfeld, who died in February 2019, was a lifelong friend of Princess Caroline, who recalled in a recent biography of the designer that she was just 16 when she did her first photo shoot with him in 1973.
“He was almost more of an influence on me growing up than my parents, who were tied up with their official duties,” said the daughter of Prince Rainier and Princess Grace of Monaco. “He opened doors for me. He did it all very naturally. People couldn’t see it, because he always wore glasses, but he had the gentlest eyes in the world.”
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