Dior Newspaper Dress by John Galliano Smashes Estimate at Bonhams Sale
EXTRA, EXTRA: A Dior newspaper dress designed by John Galliano has smashed its pre-sale estimate, commanding 15,300 euros in an online auction at Bonhams on Monday. It was expected to fetch between 800 and 1,000 euros.
Bonhams said the dress was the “star lot” at its “Cornette de Saint Cyr, The Art of Luxury: Louis Vuitton & Christian Dior — John Galliano” auction on Monday. The Christian Dior Daily newspaper style was from Dior’s fall 2000 collection, which made its runway debut in February of that year.
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Sarah Jessica Parker, playing Carrie Bradshaw, wore a similar style in season three of “Sex and the City” in an episode called “What Goes Around Comes Around.” She would later wear another Dior newspaper dress in the “Sex and the City 2” film.
For those who missed the Bonhams sale, there are more Dior by Galliano, and Galliano signature pieces set to go under the hammer on Dec. 6 during Kerry Taylor Auction’s Passion for Fashion and Ballet sale.
Pieces include a raspberry devoré velvet evening gown from the fall 2010 Dior collection, which carries an estimate of 400 to 600 pounds. A black Vicar tailcoat and a fluttery chiffon dress — both from Galliano’s “Empress Josephine Meets Lolita” collection from spring 1992, which never went into production — are also part of the sale.
In an interview, Taylor said Galliano’s designs, both for Dior and for his own label, have staying power and command serious prices at auction. She said they are admired for their “beautiful lines, imagination and sense of color.”
The Dior and Galliano pieces will sell alongside a Gianni Versace Java Forever dress and a Thierry Mugler cocktail number, both from the late ‘80s.
Taylor’s Passion for Fashion and Ballet sale will also feature clothing from Elizabeth Taylor’s mid-20th century wardrobe, including couture by Karl Lagerfeld for Tiziani and Marc Bohan for Christian Dior.
The centerpiece of that collection is Elizabeth Taylor’s Christian Dior haute couture Soirée à Rio dress, from Bohan’s spring 1961 collection. Taylor wore the gown to collect her Oscar for “Butterfield 8” and later gifted it to a family friend who stored it for decades in a suitcase, along with other designer clothes from the actress’ wardrobe.
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