The Daphne Guinness fashion collection auction at Christie’s

Daphne Guinness has collaborated with Christie’s Auction House in South Kensington to exhibit, as well as sell, a collection of exquisite pieces from her personal wardrobe. As Daphne personally unveiled her collection this morning, she said that each piece she chose to auction had a personal story attached.

Although Pat Frost, the director of fashion at Christie’s, said Daphne struggled to decide which pieces to use, eventually they created a unique collection, which they hope will bring in over £100,000 to benefit the Isabella Blow foundation, a charity that supports aspiring art and fashion students as well as facilitating further research towards depression and mental health.

Daphne said that her collection was not only to raise money for the charity but to also shine a light on the importance these issues will raises. Pat Frost said that Daphne is happiest when she is collaborating, and so the partnership with Christie’s was born.

The collection features everything from day dresses, ball gowns, coats and capes, everything to see you through your fashion needs. Within the collection there is an eclectic mix of high fashion stand-out pieces as well as wearable and more demure items. Amongst well-known and iconic designers such as McQueen and Chanel, there are also lesser-known and more obscure designers, such as Three As Four and Roberto Capucci. It is thought that Daphne’s personal interest in these pieces will help them sell just as well.

Pat Frost spoke about how the exhibit merged fashion and art. She stated: “Fashion isn’t just dresses people wear every now and then,” it is much more than that. Pat considers the pieces in Daphne’s collection to be important in art history. The cross-over from fashion to art is very apparent in the pieces Daphne has chosen to auction. A selection of Alexander McQueen shoes showcases stand-out pieces within the collection, each pair almost like a sculpture in their own right.

As well as fashion pieces, there are photographs of Daphne up for auction. A striking 2.5 metre high photograph of Guinness greets guests as they walk into the exhibition. Taken by Mario Testino and originally used for Vogue UK, the piece hopes to fetch around £20,000-£30,000.

Christie’s has chosen several pieces and noticeable items from the collection. A sculptural silver dress – specifically designed by Alexander McQueen for Daphne – is being sold along side a picture taken by Mat Collishaw of Guinness wearing it, showing again the intersection of art and fashion present within the collection.

They also chose a pair of Noritaka Tatehana platform boots, personally admired by Daphne as works of fashion art. The pair took about eight months to make and certainly is a talking point of the exhibition.

The exhibition is open to the public from the 23^rd of to the 27^th June and is truly worth a visit just to see some beautiful pieces of fashion up close. The entrance is free of charge, so even if you don’t have thousands of pounds to spend on clothes, you can still check them all out for nothing! The auction itself will be held on the evening of the 27^th and if you do fancy any of the unique items, pop along!

Emma Adams