It’s not always shopping on our minds. Today we have an exclusive collectible for all those who want add on to their esteem collections.
Care to own a multi-format album of fashion and art, published in exclusive, numbered limited editions? The latest to hit the auction is a fine run of Visionaire, the innovative contemporary fashion and design periodical founded in 1991.
However the USP of this edition that will lure natives from fashion world is that number 18, Fashion Special, comes in a monogrammed Louis Vuitton portfolio (all 2,500 copies of this issue were sold in less than three weeks).
This collection of 53 issues of Visionaire, for sale as one lot, will go under Bonhams’ hammer on 19th June at London.
Estimated to fetch $24,000 – $31,000, this edition boasts of contributions from renowned artists, photographers, designers and collaborators like Mario Testino, Bruce Weber, Helmut Lang, Richard Avedon, Sam Taylor Wood, Mario Serrenti, David Bowie, Tracey Emin, Alexander McQueen, John Galliano, Karl Lagerfield, Gucci, Versace, Hermes, Dior, Louis Vuitton and Prada.
The collection for sale comprises numbers 6-13, 16-46 and 48-61 and few of the highlights are –
Number 19, Beauty, in a mirrored mylar case complete with lipstick, mascara and lip gloss.
Number 20, Comme des Garcons, produced in collaboration with Alexander McQueen and with a dress pattern printed on muslin.
Number 22, Chic, with an actual piece of the Versace dress Madonna wore to the Evita premiere.
Number 21, Deck of Cards/Diamond, in an individual jewellery box with its own lock and key (a real diamond was offered for one lucky subscriber).
Number 23, The Emperor’s New Clothes, the ‘nude’ issue featuring photographs of supermodels and actors such as Amber Valletta, Linda Evangelista, Rupert Everett, Julie Delpy and Demi Moore.
Nnumber 32 Where?, with postcards designed by Bruce Weber in a Hermes travel pouch.
Number 53, Sound, consisting of five 12-inch vinyl records (sound pieces by David Byrne, Courtney Love, U2, Yoko Ono and others) and a battery-operated toy car that acts as a record player.
Number 61, Larger Than Life, featuring Lady Gaga on the covers, and which broke the Guinness World Record for the largest magazine.
Bonhams specialist Simon Roberts states,”Visionaire collections of this size rarely come onto the market. This is a great opportunity to acquire a major part of this wonderfully imaginative and original magazine’s output.”
