From Friday, Jan. 27, through Feb. 17, Christie”™s is presenting a tour and a series of live and online auctions of the collection of larger-than-life, Greenburgh/White Plains-based fashion editor André Leon Talley, the first Black man to hold the title creative director of American Vogue. Talley, whose sweeping, dramatic style belied a gracious manner with others, had classic tastes ”“ Louis Vuitton luggage, Tom Ford caftans, Chanel cuff bracelets, Versace scarves. The collection features these and more as it plumbs his relationships with designers Karl Lagerfeld, Miuccia Prada and Ralph Rucci, among others, while exploring the influences of arguably the three most important women in his life ”“ Bennie Frances Davis, the beloved grandmother who raised him, an impeccable housekeeper and seamstress who worked for 40 years as a maid at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina; and iconic American Vogue editors Diana Vreeland and Anna Wintour.
A highlight of the collection will be the Feb. 15 live sale at Christie”™s New York in Manhattan. All proceeds will benefit the Abyssinian Baptist Church there and the Mt. Sinai Missionary Baptist Church in Durham. The tour and catalog will feature Talley”™s mentee, American designer, LaQuan Smith, and his friend, designer Diane Von Furstenberg.
“André Leon Talley’s fashion sensibility was singular and timeless,” Elizabeth Seigel, Christie”™s head of Private and Iconic Collections, said in a statement. “He was categorically chic, and the collection that he amassed throughout his life was unlike any other. We are beyond thrilled to steward this group of objects from his homes, a selection that showcases Talley’s endless love for all things beautiful”¦.Each lot is imbued with meaning and linked to his larger-than-life persona and legacy, which continue to inspire us all.””¯
Added Alexis Thomas, executor of his estate:”¯“I am thrilled to partner with Christie”™s in the sale of the collection of my dear friend André Leon Talley. André was an intellectual and held a lifelong dedication to social justice and a pioneering vision for Black creators and luminaries. André saw his collection of beautiful objects, laden with fashion history, as his legacy, and it”™s an honor to ensure that its sale will benefit the Abyssinian Baptist Church in Harlem and Mt. Sinai Church in Durham. As we embark on a global tour with the collection, we hope to bring the magic of”¯André Leon Talley into the lives of those who have long admired him.”
(Postscript: The live and online sale achieved a total of $3,555,531.)
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