Vintage Fashion & Textiles

Alexander Calder (1898-1976) first produced designs for tapestries made at the Aubusson factory in the early 1960s.

Doulton washroom elements provide surprise as final items from extensive collection come to auction

Are influencers driving this market or is it just hype? We talk to dealers to find out what is really in demand and why.

There have been various trends around decorative textiles recently, including a move to curtains from blinds, as well as a desire for wall hangings, rugs and bed covers – any soft furnishing fabric to brighten up the home.

Auction staged at Drouot offered a varied selection topped by Louis XVI-era suit

A Parisian sale titled Pablo Picasso and his Friends staged at Piasa in France on February 15 included a series of artworks to which the great man had contributed in some way.

When it comes to period costume antique footwear can often command some of the strongest prices.

Legend has it that Charles Arpels (of Van Cleef & Arpels fame) saw a lady friend stashing her lipstick and other cosmetics in an ordinary cigarette tin for a trip out on the town.

An Arctic fox fur owned and worn by a 1930s movie star dubbed Britain’s answer to Ginger Rogers turned heads at a Derby saleroom.

Among the vintage red-carpet moments at the recent Golden Globes film awards ceremony in Los Angeles, two actresses stood out. Elle Fanning wore a 1960s white silk gown by Pierre Balmain while Carey Mulligan looked to the archives for her exact replica vintage Schiaparelli dress from 1949.

A lampshade painted by Quentin Bell sold for a remarkable £4700 when Adam Partridge (20% buyer’s premium) dispersed the residual collection of Michael Evans in Macclesfield.

Joseph Sullivan of Textile Antiques is one of the exhibitors at the London Antiques Run & Textile Art Fair running this week (January 23-28) at Evolution London, Battersea.

There is a huge disconnect today between the best and rest in the sampler world.

Markus Voigt returns to the London Antique Rug & Textile Art (LARTA) Fair after some years away with a silk and wool tapestry fragment that stars as the main image for this year’s fair logo.

Focus on quilt on offer at the first Decorative event of the year - which shares its venue with specialist fair LARTA