Christie’s Celebrates American Style with Upcoming Bill Blass Auction
The ”Bill Blass: American Elegance” sale will include more than 100 sketches, letters, and vintage gowns
New York Fashion Week is right around the corner, and Christie’s will be celebrating in style with a coinciding sale honoring one of the first big names in American fashion, Bill Blass. The auction will be accompanied by two exhibitions. Highlights will be on view at Christie’s in Rockefeller Center September 8 through 13, with the full show to be presented at the Bill Blass townhouse in New York September 18 through 22. The actual gaveling will be digital. “Bill Blass: American Elegance” will be live on the Christie’s website September 9 through 23. More than 100 items will be available for purchase, including sketches and letters as well as vintage gowns.
Born in Fort Wayne, Indiana, in 1922, Bass was part of the first generation of American designers to put their names on the label and individually identifiable aesthetics in the foreground. He became known as “the hardest-working man” and arguable king of Seventh Avenue, while his designs themselves were must-haves two blocks east on Fifth. In 1973, he was one of the U.S. designers who competed at the legendary Battle of Versailles. Over the decades, Blass won prestigious fashion industry awards from the Coty to the CDFA.
“The decades that Bill Blass spent designing—from the late 1950s through the end of the century—were decades in which the American woman was reinventing herself at lightning speed,” said curatorial consultant and former Creative Director of Bill Blass Peter Som, later adding, “The question of what she should look like while doing all of this—how to dress for a life that no longer fit neatly into any single category—was one that Blass answered.”
Blass’s client list included some of the best-dressed women in American history. Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, Brooke Astor, Gloria Vanderbilt, Nancy Reagan, and Nan Kempner are a sample of the names who turned to the designer as an element in their singular polish. Exciting lots in the auction itself include a pink and silver bustier worn by Aretha Franklin while performing at a 1993 AIDS benefit, a rainbow chiffon gown that matches one worn by Beyoncé in a famous photo shoot with InStyle, letters and cards from the Reagans, and a thank-you note from Barbara Walters. Current estimates top out in the mid-to-high four figures, but things with special provenance can reasonably be expected to beat the mark significantly.
“We are delighted to present Bill Blass: American Elegance this September during NYFW, a sale and exhibition that will delight fashion lovers of all generations, with an array of items that encompass the breadth of Blass’s timeless legacy, from impeccably tailored daywear to glamorous evening looks that embody his signature blend of ease and refinement,” said Christie’s New York Head of Private and Iconic Collections Elizabeth Seigel. “The pieces in this sale truly reflects Mr. Blass’s unwavering commitment to craftsmanship, clarity of line, and the understated luxury that defined his career. We are particularly honored to bring this to life among the yearlong celebrations of America’s 250th anniversary, paying tribute to a brilliant American creative who was instrumental in laying the groundwork for fashion as we know it today.”
