by The sale of the collection of the late fashion icon and author Andre Leon Talley has raked in nearly $3.6 million at Christie’s auction house, including custom Louis Vuitton suitcases and Andy Warhol artwork, according to figures released Wednesday.
The live auction, which ended Tuesday, included a total of 66 items, including pieces from the Vogue editor’s closet, an art collection and even furniture from his home, and netted about $1.4 million. Another 350 items were available in a separate online auction that ended Thursday, raising about $2.16 million.
Proceeds from the auctions will benefit the Abyssinian Baptist Church in New York and the Mt. Sinai Missionary Baptist Church in Durham, North Carolina, where Talley grew up, “both of whom were close to Mr. Talley’s heart,” according to the auction house.
Duffy-Marie Arnoult/ WireImages via Getty Imahes
The cheapest item sold was a lot of ten pairs of gloves, which cost $756. The top three items, each selling for $94,500, were two pieces by the late Andy Warhol and a set of three personalized Louis Vuitton luggages.
Talley’s editing career spanned nearly 50 years – from 1975 to 2013 – and has included positions at Vanity Fair, W and Vogue, where he was the magazine’s first black male creative director. He died in January 2022 at the age of 73, less than two years after the publication of his controversial memoir In the Chiffon Trenches.
Rihanna pays homage to Talley in her Super Bowl Halftime Show, featuring a giant red puffer by Alaïa that resembled Talley’s eponymous bright red nightgown by Norma Kamali. The coat was a well-known fashion item for Talley and sold for over $25,000 in the live auction, far exceeding the estimate of $500-$800.
Talley’s Instagram account is still active and on Monday posted the lyrics to Rihanna’s “Umbrella” — her penultimate song in her Super Bowl performance — and tagged the singer in the caption.
“Rihanna’s honor brought me to tears,” commented celebrity Patricia Altschul, a friend of Talley’s.
C Mandler
