Auction houses are moving beyond just art. Now, luxury fashion is the new draw for avid patrons looking to add to their collections. In a chat with Emmanuel Danan, Global Managing Director, Luxury at Christie’s, we break down how fashion’s timeless allure has become a big draw for auction houses and their patrons.
Imagine not having to waitlist yourself to purchase that one-off Birkin handbag, a pair of Air Jordans, or a rare piece of jewellery.
If you’re lucky enough, you can just bid for it.
For the longest time, auction houses were solely focused on the art world. Now, there is a new contender — luxury fashion. The last decade has witnessed auction houses like Christie’s increase their attention (and investments) towards luxury goods, even adding new business verticals. So, you won’t be surprised to find the much-coveted Birkin, a rare Patek Phillipe watch, or a pair of collectible sneakers being auctioned with as much interest as a renowned piece of art. Christie’s has also hosted luxury week sales, auctioning bespoke fashion, jewellery and luxury handbags.
So, what’s driving this interest? And how did luxury fashion become a draw for auction houses to bet big on this segment? Part of this can be attributed to the surge in interest from millennial and Gen Z buyers, who are willing to spend on such collectibles that ultimately fetch a hefty price tag. A Birkin, for instance, is more than just arm candy and considered a worthy investment, given that its value will only appreciate over time. Last November, Christie’s presented Handbags Online: The Paris Edit sale, which also featured a selection of three rare and legendary, made-to-treasure bamboo bags from Gucci, along with sought-after Hermès handbags. About 38% of the bidders were under the age of 40, with the sale totalling USD 2.8 million.
Handbags Online: The Paris Edit
In fact, in June this year, Christie’s will be auctioning Vivienne Westwood: The Personal Collection, to raise funds for charitable causes. Widely considered one of the most influential fashion designers of modern times, the auction will feature iconic looks from her wardrobe, personally selected by her husband Andreas Kronthaler.
To understand this better, we conversed with Emmanuel Danan, Global Managing Director, Luxury, at Christie’s.
Edited excerpts from the conversation with Danan:
We’re seeing auction houses like Christie’s focus on luxury goods and fashion more than ever before. What has led to this shift?
In essence, what we do is provide a platform where holders of art, fashion and other luxury pieces can offer their bespoke goods for sale whilst the auction house provides the expertise as well as a base of potential buyers, globally. We’ve even seen how stand-alone auctions for jewels and watches have been long established, gaining momentum over time. Between the 1970s to the late 1990s, Christie’s has sold individual pieces of luxury items. This includes the personal Chanel handbag of Coco Chanel or the evening dresses of Princess Diana. As of the 2010s, Christie’s developed a luxury department by regrouping jewels, watches and wine—all traditional long-standing departments — by adding a newcomer, the stand-alone handbag department with a global auction calendar covering London, Paris, New York and Hong Kong.
Are buyers looking at these pieces as an investment?
The majority of our clients are collectors, who are passionate about their collecting field. They bring their own set of knowledge, time and sensibilities towards their purchases. For instance, we have sold the Yves Saint Laurent (YSL) wardrobe of actress Catherine Deneuve in Paris, and the stage dresses of singer Shirley Bassey. These are all private collections coming to the market and admired by thousands of fans.
Yu-Ge Wang auctioning The Big Picture playing cards, designed by Vivienne Westwood, at Christie’s London from earlier in the year.
Are your revenues from luxury increasing significantly?
Last year, we achieved the highest ever total for luxury sales at an auction, which was USD 1 billion, up by 25% over 2022. This was led by the sale of the Bleu Royal (a pear-shaped blue diamond), also the most expensive jewel sold at an auction in 2023 for USD 44 million, and one of the ten most valuable lots—in art or luxury—sold worldwide in 2023. Online sales showed an over 12% increase year-on-year with the two most expensive lots being watches and jewels.
Christie’s handbags department also leads as the best recruiter for new bidders and buyers. Interestingly, about 59% of all new handbag buyers are millennials or younger. What were some of the top sales for Christie’s from the luxury fashion segment this past year?
It would have to be the recently held auction of The Collection of Sir Elton John: Goodbye Peachtree Road, featuring over 900 objects, and held across a total of seven sales. The highly anticipated auction honoured him and his discerning eye for collecting. The sale featured 49 lots and was 100% sold out, achieving a total of USD 8 million. To give some insight, a pair of silver leather platform boots, with the initials E & J, circa 1971, sold for USD 94,500. This was 19 times the low estimate of USD 5,000. In total, the collection realised USD 20,537,842 and this was well in excess of the low estimate of USD 10 million.
The 17.6-carat Bleu Royal (a pear-shaped blue diamond)
Are you seeing younger generations show more interest in owning or collecting such rare fashion pieces? Any interesting behavioural trends?
Throughout 2023 we witnessed robust statistics around our global new buyers. We’ve witnessed a 65% rise among new Gen Z buyers mainly driven by handbags and watches. Many of these buyers are beginning their Christie’s journey through online-only sales. To give some context, more than 450,000 collectors and fans browsed the sales online in the weeks leading up to the auctions. Christie’s livestream auctions attracted nearly 1 million views from around the globe, while buyer participation in this series of sales came from around 60 countries.
How is Christie’s looking at leveraging the luxury fashion space, going forward? What are your expectations?
There are great fashion collections out there and whenever they come to us we would be delighted to sell them. Where we will continue to focus on is the luxury sector, where we are in a very strong and leading position. This will help us attract the next generation of collectors and embark on a long lasting journey with them.
Words by Arzoo Dina
