Some designer clothing attracts a collector’s premium. But which?

Some designer clothing attracts a collector's premium. But which? The National Gallery of Victoria (NGV) was recently donated a substantial collection by Australian designer Martin Grant, now based in Paris, along with others, such as Akira Isogawa and Toni Maticevski. Several more are being closely watched. A collection of looks by Toni Maticevski. Steven Siewert Shapiro Auctioneers is regularly finding Australian designers appearing at auction, including Collette Dinnigan, who first presented her collection in Paris in 1995. It’s surprising then, given her presence on the fashion scene well into the ’90s, that her clothing, such as a laced embossed camisole, can be purchased on the secondary auction market for only $40. Ida Combley, co-ordinator of design at Shapiro Auctioneers, advises buyers to prioritize personal taste over financial gain. Others, such as Zimmermann, who also cut through to a European audience and still does, fares considerably better at Shapiros. “Zimmerman’s ‘Amalfi Coast’ collection with its lace and floral prints, is still popular, as well its evening dresses, reaching several hundred dollars,” says Combley. It takes a few more decades back into this fashion industry before the big bucks ‘kick in’. Comley refers to a late 1980s dress designed by Linda Jackson in collaboration with Jenny Kee and sold through their store, Flamingo Park in Sydney’s Strand Arcade, as getting more traction, selling at Shapiros for $480 plus buyer’s premium. Featuring the image of Lunar Park on the back and the words ‘Just for Fun’ across the front, the design evoked the heady days of that period. Designers from the more recent past, such as Bianca Spender, are also attracting an audience on the secondary market, with one of her dresses selling for $945 plus buyer’s premium. Some Australian designers attracting attention are less well known to the broader Australian audience, with Combley noting the recent collections of Nicol & Ford, recognised for their silhouettes and garment construction. They’re continually experimenting with fabrics, she adds. Other designers such as Song for the Mute are drawing attention, not only for their designs but the use of poetry on many of the garments. Most of the people collecting Song for the Mute are in their mid-20s and it’s often difficult to predict if the prices on the secondary market will head north. Combley, who certainly sees a designer’s representation on the catwalks of Paris as being one factor to increase the value of a designer’s work long term, adds that sometimes you need a 20-year gap between when something’s first released and how valuable it is now. There’s a considerably longer time period when you’re valuing European fashion. Patty Huntington, Features & Fashion News Director at Harper’s BAZAAR Australia, has been following the rise of Australian fashion designers since the mid-1980s. She singles out designers such as Toni Maticevski, who certainly made an impact with his recent collection at Australian Fashion Week, held in May. His two brides, one wearing black lace, the other white, were donned with headdresses akin to bird cages. Designers like Toni, who have an artisanal approach will certainly be highly collectable in the future, together with others such as Romance was Born. Huntington also points out the designs of Grace Lillian Lee, a First Nations fashion designer, who has also collaborated with the likes of Jean Paul Gaultier. She notes that the value is in the craftsmanship, with some of Lee’s designs conceived.