Luxury World: The Past, Present and Future of Luxury Brands by Tungate Mark

Author:Tungate, Mark [Tungate, Mark]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Kogan Page
Published: 2009-10-03T00:00:00+00:00

THE SALE OF THE CENTURY

When viewed from the perspective of Basle or Frieze, FIAC is indeed a far more humble affair, with barely a superstar collector in evidence. But many of the dealers told me that the Paris show is growing in importance and prestige. Among them was Neil Wenman of White Cube, which was making its debut at the fair. The gallery’s stand was devoted to a new body of work by Jake and Dinos Chapman. Actually, ‘body’ is not quite the right word: the painted bronze sculptures reduced humankind to ramshackle constructions of cogs, pistons and oozing organs. The malfunctioning machines looked as though they’d emerged from some grim Gothic horror tale.

Looking on were a series of stern Victorian portraits. Except that the portraits had been defaced by plastic surgery, scarification and mutilation. ‘It’s all about ageing and decay,’ Wenman explained, cheer-fully. ‘We felt a solo presentation would have more impact than pieces by several different artists,’ he added. He said he was pleased with the show’s brisk first day, which compared favourably to the recent Frieze. ‘We did very well in London. The difference there is that all the real selling is done privately, behind the scenes. But of course we don’t have showrooms here in Paris.’

Almost everyone I met claimed that although the free-falling economy had deterred speculators, ‘real’ collectors continued to buy. The problem was that estimates of the number of these committed collectors ranged from a couple of thousand worldwide to just 200 individuals.

Some months after FIAC, the atmosphere at the Grand Palais was rather different. Now it was evening, and the magnificent glass-domed building was the setting for what the French press had dubbed ‘The Sale of the Century’. Christie’s was auctioning the entire art collection of the late fashion designer Yves Saint Laurent and his partner Pierre Bergé. The amount fetched by the sale – estimated at more than €300 million – would be donated to charity.

Modern art was the first category in the three-day sale. And as the names involved were colossal brands – Matisse, Picasso, Mondrian, not to mention Yves Saint Laurent himself – the event had attracted fervent interest from the media and the public. Almost 35,000 people had filed through the two-day preview exhibition. Now some of them stood outside the building as if hoping that the atmosphere would leach through the walls. Inside, more than 1,200 collectors, dealers and art enthusiasts were seated in rows before the podium. These were the visible potential bidders: others were waiting at the end of 100 telephone lines. The domed roof high above was suffused with a bluish twilight. Disc-shaped chandeliers the size of flying saucers hung in the immense space, warming the crowds along with the rows of spotlights that added to the sense that this was a blend of theatre and fashion show. The air was thick with anticipation and expensive fragrance.

In the end, François de Ricqlès, the chairman of Christie’s France, conducted the auction with a suave self-possession

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