When Art Meets Fashion

Designer Handbags and Fashion

9 Mar 2023

London, Knightsbridge  

A luxurious black velvet Schiaparelli ’Hall of Mirrors’ jacket, embroidered with gold Rococo-esque metallic thread panels and decorated with classical Greco-Roman bust buttons, set to dazzle Bonhams’ Designer Handbags & Fashion Sale at Knightsbridge on 9 March. A testament to Schiaparelli’s principles of self-defined beauty, Dadaist eccentricity and bold architectural lines, this ’Hall of Mirrors’ jacket was first debuted in her A/W 1938/9 Zodiac collection and has an estimate of £2,000-4,000.

Founded in Paris in the late 1920s, Maison Schiaparelli quickly became a distinguished and pioneering force in fashion, as well as a name closely linked to the Surrealist art movement. At the intersection of art and fashion, this jacket brings together playful motifs of the classical and the surreal with the quality and attention to detail characteristic of couture craftsmanship. The Zodiac collection invoked two ethereal themes of astrology and the Palace of Versailles, the latter of which inspired this jacket’s striking mirrored hallway embroidery. Schiaparelli’s designs were highly coveted and could be seen on models, socialites, artists and even royalty.

The black enamel buttons, which resemble classical busts of women, are attributed to the Jean Clement workshop, which regularly made buttons for some of Schiaparelli’s most legendary designs.

Meg Randell, UK & Europe Head of Department for Designer Handbags & Fashion, commented: “The Zodiac collection was one of the world’s first ever thematic fashion shows and this jacket is a wonderful example of how Schiaparelli played with many imaginative sources, in particular Surrealism. The present-day Creative Director of Maison Schiaparelli, Daniel Roseberry, continues to play with the surreal, with his most recent couture show featuring dresses with life-sized lion heads attached at the shoulder. The Zodiac jacket recreates the mirrored hallways of the Palace of Versailles – however, at some point, the original owner removed the mirrored panels to create a more restrained couture look.”

Accompanying this lot is a second black crepe Schiaparelli jacket, circa 1935/6, from the same owner, with a white glass bead trim on the neckline and pockets and large brown leather buttons. Estimate: £1,000- £2,000.

Other sale highlights include:
• An exciting selection of Louis Vuitton canvas trunks, including those designed from the three main types of canvas used by Vuitton, articulating the innovation and evolution of the luxury maison across the ages. These particularly special lots include a Rayee striped beige and brown canvas ’mail’ trunk, circa 1890s, estimate £4,500-6,500; a checkerboard steamer trunk, circa 1890- 1900, estimate £5,000-7,000 and a classic monogram canvas shoe trunk, circa 1960s, estimate £1,500-2,000.

• From a single owner collection, there are seven monogram pieces from the Louis Vuitton x Takashi Murakami collaboration. When Marc Jacobs was appointed as artistic director of Louis Vuitton in 1997, he transformed a heritage brand into a contemporary fashion-house. His work with Murakami was era-defining, and Jacobs’ subsequent collaborations resulted in some of the most coveted collector’s pieces today. In this collaboration, Murakami injected the classic monogram print with colourful motifs such as red cherries, and infused Japanese pop-art with luxury fashion. Highlights include a Louis Vuitton x Murakami Monogram Cerises Speedy 25, circa 2005, estimate £800-1,500; a White Multicolore Alma PM, circa 2004, estimate £500-800, and a Black Multicolore Pochette, circa 2003, estimate £400-600.

• A Louis Vuitton x Yayoi Kusama black lockit bag with red and white polka dot trimmings, circa 2012 – another successful example of art being incorporated into luxury fashion, which established an enduring and important relationship between Kusama and Vuitton. Estimate: £800-1,200.

• An incredible vintage statement Jean Paul Gaultier ’Fight Racism’ mesh maxi dress, circa A/W 1997. Estimate £800-1,200.