Liz Taylor’s Fendi Baguette sets a record; the handbag market is booming
Highly sought-after between the end of the last millennium and the start of the new one, it has attracted attention due to its excellent appreciation, even if six-figure sums are to be found elsewhere
Key points
The Fendi Baguette has set a new world auction record. A piece that belonged to Liz Taylor, featured in Christie’s ‘Handbags Online: The New York Edit’ (lot 149; the sale ended on 11 June) fetched $21,590, against an estimate of $3,000. The lot therefore increased in value sevenfold (it should be noted that the pre-auction estimate is always exclusive of commission, unlike the final sale price). Made of ivory canvas with a red, white and black floral print, and adorned with silver-coloured trim, the handbag dates from the early 2000s, just when it was taking the fashion editorial pages by storm, thanks in part to Carrie Bradshaw from SATC (Sex and the City). This particular bag is distinctive for being woven with tiny crystals, resembling dewdrops on the floral print.
The History of the Fendi Baguette
The ‘it bag’ par excellence – even before its ‘counterparts’, the Hermès Kelly and Birkin – the Fendi Baguette was created in 1997 thanks to the ingenuity of Silvia Venturini Fendi, and very quickly became ‘the’ bag to own at any cost. An accessory as recognisable as it is versatile: compact and symmetrical, it draws inspiration from the French bread of the same name and the habit of carrying it under the arm. With a front flap, FF logo clasp and short shoulder strap, it was the ideal finishing touch to Y2K (year two thousand) outfits: perfect for carrying on the shoulder during nights spent dancing in nightclubs, without the hassle of a long strap or the bulk of oversized bags. Yet it is surprisingly roomy. The Baguette is ‘a manifesto of identity and individuality, because it is always the same and yet always different’, observed its creator. An interesting fact: the ‘FF’ logo, which stands for ‘Fun Fur’, was introduced by Karl Lagerfeld (1933–2019) shortly after he joined the fashion house in 1965.
Since its debut, the Rome-based fashion house (now part of the LVMH group) has released it in over 1,000 versions: ‘There are so many variations and each one looks like a unique piece’, as Kiara Cooper, a handbag and accessories specialist at Christie’s, explains. Whether minimalist or maximalist, the Baguette has captured the hearts of fashionistas. And now, of collectors too – particularly millennials and Gen Z.
Liz Taylor’s other Baguettes up for auction
A lifelong admirer of Fendi, Liz Taylor owned several extremely rare Baguette bags, not just the one that set a record. In addition to this one, other pieces from her collection were sold at the same online auction: a Zucchino Baguette with gold hardware (lot 202, $3,048; estimate: $2,000–3,000); another featuring a tiger’s eye stone buckle, with thousands of sequins hand-applied against black, white, silver and beige backgrounds (lot 35, $6,985; estimate: $3,000–$4,000); one in Roman leather (lot 168, $4,064; estimate: $3,000–5,000), the house’s signature material, as the fashion house was founded in Rome in 1925 as a workshop specialising in the working of furs and leathers. In keeping with Fendi’s tradition of craftsmanship is Liz Taylor’s Baguette bag in orange-dyed lambskin with dark patches (lot 33, $3,556; estimate: $3,000–4,000).
The results from New York (and Jeff Koons)
All 22 Baguette lots were sold, and the auction as a whole totalled $3,256,407, with 97 per cent of lots sold and a result of 123 per cent of the overall minimum estimate. The top lot of the sale was a rare 2016 Birkin 30 Himalaya in matt white Nile crocodile with palladium hardware, which sold for $120,650. Next, buyers favoured a Birkin 35 Anate Sellier in chocolate-coloured Evergrain leather with gold-tone hardware from 2023 ($76,200). Of the 137 Hermès lots (almost all Birkin and Kelly bags), very few remained unsold, including two Constance shoulder bags and a Birkin 25 in glossy black Nile crocodile.
The readymade work by Jeff Koons is certainly not among the unsold items ‘Kelly Bag Ivory (Shelf), 2014’, which originated from a charity project for the United Nations: someone paid $30,480 for this cream-coloured bag displayed on a mirrored shelf. A 2015 Chanel ‘Feminist Protest’ catwalk clutch (from the Karl Lagerfeld era) changed hands for the same price, against a minimum estimate of $8,000.
