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(CNN) — There's a lot of talk about the soaring prices of luxury goods, but it's at auction that fashion is traded for the most eye-popping sums.
In 2022, Joan Didion's Celine sunglasses were sold for $27,000. In 2023, a pair of Levi's once worn by Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain sold for $412,750. Last month, Elton John's diamond-encrusted leopard-print Rolex sold for $176,400. But these amounts pale in comparison to the $1.14 million that Princess Diana's black sheep sweater sold for last year.
Fashion items that have been used on TV, movie, and even commercial sets can also command high prices. This year alone, Succession's so-called “ridiculously large” Burberry bag sold for $18,750. The suit Nicole Kidman wore in the viral AMC Theaters ad cost $9,525. An auction of costumes and props from “The Crown'' brought in a total of $2.1 million.
At top auction houses such as Sotheby's, Bonhams and Christie's, fashion has become more of a priority over the past decade, playing a key role in their strategies to attract a new generation of customers who can bid online.
Lucy Bishop, Sotheby's handbag and fashion specialist, said: “Anyone can participate, as long as they have the money, and if they don't have any money, they can participate.”
Frank Augstein/Associated Press
Princess Diana's iconic black sheep jumper on display at Sotheby's in London on July 17, 2023.
Although sales prices are widely publicized, auction houses maintain a kind of attorney-client privilege regarding the identities of bidders.
These buyers typically fall into several groups, including museums, private collectors, vintage dealers, and super fans. Some people buy with the hope of a big return on their investment, while for others that potential is just a bonus. For most people, the desire to own an item stems from a long-standing passion. Rare items are just part of the charm.
The more important the item, the smaller the pool of potential buyers. “This world is a very exclusive club for those in the know,” Bishop said.
The most historically significant pieces, whether because of their association with a particular designer, period in fashion history, or because they were worn by figures such as Audrey Hepburn and Princess Diana, are usually recovered by institutions such as the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. . or the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. Even if they are purchased by a private collector, they may end up in museum exhibits, or loaned out.
Celebrities themselves often purchase them. For example, Lady Gaga and Kim Kardashian have bought Michael Jackson's clothes. Actress Laverne Cox is known for showing off her own Mugler collection in red on her carpet. In fact, much of the archival fashion seen on the star today has gone through auctions.
Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP
Laverne Cox poses in vintage Mugler on the red carpet at the 2024 People's Choice Awards on February 18th.
“Fashion auctions have been Hollywood stylists' best-kept secret for decades, and now that secret is clearly out,” Bishop said.
People who pursue iconic items, whether they're owned by celebrities or not, do so out of passion.
“All you need is some sort of attachment to a particular designer,” says vintage fashion dealer Shannon Hoey, who acquired much of her vast archive through auction. Hoey works with designers to create collection references and stylists to get her work featured on red carpets, editorials, and the big screen.
For some, it means a connection to a famous celebrity or cultural property. These items often sell at a markup, so the 2019 Lady Dior handbag carried by Elizabeth Debicki as Princess Diana in The Crown cost more than $12,000 instead of its usual retail price of $4,000. Because it is traded at , it is often fans, not fashion purists, who raise prices. Meg Randell, head of fashion and handbags at Bonhams, said of the purchase.
Leigh Anne Clark, a Dallas-based Valentino, Saint Laurent and Chanel shopper, picked up a Birkin by longtime Vogue editor Andre Leon Talleys at Christie's last year.
“I think I was sitting next to Anna Wintour on a plane to a cool place for a shoot that I saw in a magazine,” Clark said. “I feel like I understood a part of (Tully). Or if he knew me, he would have understood a part of me.”
He says he doesn't use it regularly and plans to display it in his closet.
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A personalized Hermès Birkin circa 1990 with gold hardware details from the Andre Leon Talley collection goes on display at Christie's in Palm Beach, Florida on January 17, 2023.
Meanwhile, California-based teacher Renee Plant acquired 89 pieces of Princess Diana's work. That includes the Versace dress that the magazine featured on its November 1997 cover in honor of Princess Diana, acquired in 2015 after her death in Paris. For $200,000. Her love for the late royal family began in her childhood, when she shook hands with Princess Diana during her royal family's visit to Australia in 1983.
Plant currently runs a website to introduce the collection, but is aiming to hold a large-scale exhibition. For now, the clothing is being stored in a temperature-controlled storage facility in California.
“I wanted to tell her story because her life meant so much,” Plant said. “It's about her kindness and her ability to make you feel as if you've known her for years just by touching her hand.”
The potential for big profits has attracted a new breed of fashion buyers to auctions: those who see the category as an investment. These buyers are particularly interested in celebrity-related works that receive press attention, have a wide range of buyers, and often command higher valuations. Items attached to hit movies are usually easier to sell. For example, Hoey exhibited a stuffed bird worn by Carrie Bradshaw at her wedding in the movie “Sex and the City,” which he sold at Sotheby's in 2023 for $25,400.
Craig Blankenhorn/HBO
Martin Nolan, executive director of Julien's Auctions, calls one type of fashion auction buyer a “hedge fund manager.” Their interest in investment products may extend to “Sex and the City” character Carrie Bradshaw's wardrobe (pictured above).
Meanwhile, on stage and behind the scenes, the next big-ticket item is constantly being minted. Martin Nolan, executive director of Julien's Auctions, which focuses on celebrity possessions and memorabilia, said whispers were already swirling about who would get the fashion from the Barbie movies. Ta.
The next big sale could also be on an item that's already fetching a high price, as new circumstances or simply the passage of time can add value. Kim Kardashian is calling out the integrity of the dress after she wore the same dress Marilyn Monroe wore in 1962 to sing Happy Birthday to President John F. Kennedy at the 2022 Met Gala. Some claimed she compromised it, while others claimed she added new weight to the garment. Its value more than tripled from her 1999 sale price of $1.27 million to her 2016 sale price of $4.8 million.
“That dress could sell for $10 million today, thanks to its double celebrity status,” Nolan said.
Read more stories from “The Business of Fashion” here.
