Didier Ludot Bids Farewell With a Final Sale of Vintage Couture at Bonhams in Paris
LONDON — Bonhams is marking the end of an era with the sale in January of vintage specialist Didier Ludot’s final pieces of couture following his decision to shut his boutique at the Palais-Royal in Paris after 50 years.
The sale is called “The Last Passage” and will take place on Jan. 30. Hubert Felbacq, director of fashion and accessories at Bonhams Cornette de Saint Cyr, is in charge of the sale, which will include more than 350 lots.
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Ludot described the Bonhams sale as “a summary of my 50 years at the Palais-Royal. With them, I want to shout my love for Monsieur Saint Laurent. Among the 300 exceptional designs, there will be 80 pieces from Yves Saint Laurent Haute Couture and then, of course, Chanel, Balenciaga, Christian Dior and Madame Grès.”
Ludot also thanked his clients over the years including “Mademoiselle [Catherine] Deneuve, of course,” Nicole Kidman, Naomi Campbell, Stéphanie Seymour and her children, Johnny Depp, Kate Moss, Sharon Stone, Kris Jenner, Sarah Paulson, Joanna Lumley, Demi Moore and Julia Roberts.
Felbacq said he’s known Ludot for more than 30 years, and has never stopped visiting his boutique at Palais-Royal.
“In 2021, this essential fashion figure was already putting pieces from his gallery’s archives on sale at Cornette de Saint Cyr. During Paris Fashion Week in January, he will offer for auction the final pieces from his collection signed by the greatest couturiers,” he said.
Top lots include a Christian Dior Haute Couture short “Sévillane” evening dress in black Calais Chantilly lace from the spring 1959. It carries an estimate of 4,000 to 6,000 euros.
There is also a suit in ivory tweed and navy blue braid from the last collection designed by Gabrielle “Coco” Chanel. It was from the spring 1971 haute couture collection, and carries an estimate of 1,500 to 2,000 euros.
From Yves Saint Laurent, there is a grand evening dress in black silk satin with red embroidery from the fall 1995 haute couture collection. Its estimate is 1,500 to 2,000 pounds.
The preview exhibition will take place between Jan. 24 and 29. There will also be an online sale from Jan. 23 to Feb. 3.
Earlier this year, Ludot marked the 50th anniversary of his store with a sale of 50 pieces from his personal archive and a window display with couturier Stéphane Rolland.
Several designs from Rolland’s fall 2023 collection, a tribute to opera singer Maria Callas, were on display alongside archival looks from Christian Dior and Balenciaga and a striking pendant light by French designer Hubert Le Gall.
“I can’t believe I’ve been here for 50 years. I mean, I can and I can’t, because back then, the Palais-Royal was totally different,” Ludot told WWD. “It was full of dusty 19th-century stores.”
He started off with a small space at number 16 selling items such as Auguste Bonaz bakelite jewelry and Art Deco perfume bottles.
“My first store was so small, I couldn’t even stretch my legs,” he recalled. “I was 22 years old. I was oblivious, I didn’t care. I just loved the place,” he said.
Ludot moved to the current location in 1984 and the boutique is now three times its original size, becoming a destination for designers, collectors and celebrities including Reese Witherspoon, who wore a 1950s Dior dress sourced from Ludot to receive her Oscar for Best Actress in 2006.
Long before the resale craze, Ludot started selling secondhand clothes in the wake of Saint Laurent’s controversial 1971 Libération collection, inspired by ’40s wartime fashion in France. “At the time, we didn’t call it ‘vintage’ but rather ‘retro,’” he recalled. “Nowadays, ‘vintage’ is like a brand.”
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