Cher Shares

She was lithe, lean and exotic—part hippie chick, part Vampira, part glamour puss. She had six-pack abs before the phrase even existed. And best of all, she could laugh at herself. Which made her the perfect muse—and most magnificent model—for flashy-trashy Hollywood fashion designer Bob Mackie. For Cher, he dreamed up the most audaciously beaded, sequinned, plunging, cutaway and barely-there confections. It’s hard to imagine his designs hanging on anyone else’s bod.

Well, you may not be able to wear them, but now you can own them. Cher is cleaning house—and her closets—in a Julien’s/Sotheby’s auction on October 3 & 4. And what a tag sale it proves to be.

The fact is, if you’re into celebrity memorabilia (and I’ve heard from dealers that Cher has a particularly strong cult following, especially in the gay community), there is no single better place to buy material than at a celebrity’s own sale. Cher hand-picked the lots, sharing the stuff’s history along the way. The provenance is ironclad.

The shmata alone! There’s a full range, from wacky, over-the-top costumes worn for the Sonny & Cher show …. to diva-esque Oscar gowns …. to racy wardrobe numbers designed for her more recent concerts, like a leather, fishnet, and sequined garter and-thong number that shows off her prominent, across-the-cheeks butt tattoo.

Where else can you score a single-shouldered, slit-to-the-waist beaded number complete with the equivalent of one angel wing’s worth of feathers flying off the back end ($2,000–$3,000)? Or a fuschia jumpsuit ($800–$1,200) with more sequin-lined holes in front than a slice of Swiss cheese? Who else could’ve pulled off the brilliantly swirling, flaring, black-and-white Erte-inspired gown ($4,000–$6,000) with its towering, gravity-defying hat? Or the sequined, one-armed black-and-white zebra stripe dress ($2,000–$3,000), complete with a huge, Sideshow Bob-like headpiece made of glittering black feathers? The whole lot of her gowns really deserve an exhibition at the Met’s Costume Institute.

The clothes could fill an auction unto themselves. And Mackie’s original drawings are available for many of the them, estimated at a few hundred bucks a pop. But this sale has tons more. Did we mention the jewelry? You can score anything from $100 cheapo hippie stuff to surprisingly low-key diamond and white gold classics to a stunning Van Cleef & Arpels diamond necklace with a low estimate of $40,000. Also on offer: everything from shoes, furs, wigs, sunglasses and handbags to furniture, platinum records, tchochkes, paintings, even stained-glass window designs. Many are priced to sell. But expect the actual bids to go a lot higher. I mean, she’s got barely-worn boots from Manolo Blahnik and Dolce & Gabbana, estimated for a few hundred each, that almost certainly cost more new.

And let’s not forget the cars. A Ford F100 pickup that Johnny Depp found for her, pimped out with silver upholstery. A Bentley GT Coupe ($160,000–$170,000). And a 2003 Hummer (proceeds go to Operation Helmet, which pays for helmet inserts for American troops abroad). Who knows if she ever really drove them, but….does it matter? If her butt graced the seats even a few times, you’ve got bragging rights.

Oh and…back to those stained glass window designs. The girl loved everything Gothic, in all its pointy, swirly, dark-wooded, ethereal glory. From the catalog photos, it’s pretty clear that she’s neck-deep in a houseful of Victorian-era Gothic Revival furniture, lovely examples in excellent condition, from clocks, chandeliers and bookcases to some really spectacular beds.

She’s also got a taste for religious pictures: little-known Spanish Colonial and Italian examples, the odd pre-Raphaelite canvas, Russian icons, even copies of Raphael’s Sistine Madonna and Jan Van Eyck’s Ghent altarpiece. Unlike some celebrity house sales, where the material was clearly designer-chosen to fit the fashion of the day, Cher’s stuff bears her exotic, eclectic stamp. From an intricately etched Indian silver tea set and her cow-print-and-pink-leather handbag to a taxidermied armadillo table lamp and her collection of ivory crucifixes, her personal style and taste come shining through. The catalog is a guilty pleasure. –M.S.

This entry was posted on Thursday, September 14th, 2006 at 4:43 pm and is filed under Memorabilia. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.