Sale of André Leon Talley luxury items raises $1.4 million
Auction house Christie’s has reported that a sale of items owned by André Leon Talley on February 15 surpassed its expectations. All of the lots sold and the bids were for almost 350% above Christie’s estimates and reached a little under $1.4 million in total.
André Leon Talley was a writer, fashion icon and stylist who died a year ago from complications of a heart-attack and covid-19. He was 73.
He grew up in North Carolina and studied French literature, which, after he won a scholarship, took him to Brown University in Rhode Island. From there he went to work in nearby New York, writing for Vogue and other fashion publications.
The items in the Christie’s sale included personalised pieces of Louis Vuitton luggage that sold for much more than the auction house had estimated. The money raised from the sale will go to two Baptist churches to which Mr Talley had strong connections: the Abyssinian Baptist Church in Harlem, and the Mount Sinai Missionary Baptist Church in Durham, North Carolina.
