Elizabeth Taylor apparently never tossed anything. Her vast couture wardrobe and more than $36 million in stunning jewelry and other items will be auctioned at Christie’s in a sale that is attracting international interest.
Taylor a legendary screen star and film icon, who married eight times, died in March from congestive heart failure. She was 79.
Over a lifetime, she was an avid collector and more than 400 fashion items spanning over 50 years of her life.
The silk chiffon dress she wore at her first wedding to actor Richard Burton in 1964, will be for sale.
Other stunning jewelry and keepsakes up for auction include the fabled “Elizabeth Taylor Diamond.”
Check out the collection; click to enlarge.
The 33.19-carat, D-color, potentially flawless stone is set in a ring and was given to her by Burton in May 1968. It’s expected to sell between $2.5 million and #3.5 million.
Her haute couture includes dresses and gowns by Chanel, Yves St. Laurent and Dior.
Marc Porter, chairman and president of Christie’s Americas, called Taylor’s vast wardrobe collection “extraordinarily well-preserved wardrobe.”
The collection is so exclusive it will go on a global tour, with stops in Los Angeles, London, Dubai, Geneva, Paris and Hong Kong and will be curated like a museum collection.
The collection will be exhibited and open to the public at Christie’s in New York for 10 days leading up to the auction.
“This is not a red carpet wardrobe edited by stylists but a treasure trove of looks chosen by the last of the great movie stars,” said Meredith Etherington-Smith, Christie’s’ curator for the fashion auction.
She described the collection as “highly personal.”
“Many of the pieces in this lifetime collection were couture, custom made for Ms. Taylor by designers who became her close friends, including Valentino Garavani, Gianni Versace and Gianfranco Ferre.”
Among other highlights are Versace beaded evening jacket adorned with portraits of the actress in some of her famous movie roles, which is priced to sell for up to $20,000.
Taylor’s 1964 wedding dress has an estimated sale price of $40,000 to $60,000.
You don’t have to be a millionaire to bid. Lower-priced collectibles will be sold online. Some proceeds will be donated to The Elizabeth Taylor AIDS Foundation, which the actress founded in 1991.
Christie’s will present 80 of Taylor’s most iconic jewels in a special Evening Sale on Dec. 13, followed by 189 additional jewels in two Day Sale sessions on Dec 14.