FASHION Magazine

Celebrity jewels and clothing have become quite the draw at auctions, with dresses and jewels that once belonged to the rich and famous easily fetching millions. Just last week, two hats worn by Kate Middleton hit the auction block, raising more than $11,000 for charity. Daphne Guinness also auctioned off some of her prized fashion pieces in the name of charity, as did Elizabeth Taylor, whose collection of clothing and jewels garnered a record breaking $157 million. The Taylor auction also attracted several celebrity bids—Kim Kardashian purchased three of Liz’s Lorraine Schwartz diamond and jade bangles for $64,000, and Coco Rocha surprised herself when she walked away with Taylor’s yellow and pink Givenchy jumpsuit that she wore to the Met gala this year. We’ve rounded up 10 celebrity fashion picks that fetched a pretty penny at auction, and we think the piece that went for the biggest bank might surprise you.

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The world’s biggest, and perhaps bravest, pop star stormed Roy Thomson Hall last night for the premiere of W.E., a film she directed and co-wrote. The love story of Wallis Simpson and the Prince of Wales, with a parallel tale of a Wallis-obsessed doctor’s wife, is Madonna’s first feature effort, a career move that film critics have not taken kindly to. I found W.E. to be entertaining, stylish, and fun, and I admire Madonna for holding her Garren-coiffed head high amid the barbs. After a private meeting, screening, and invitation to join her at her table for dinner, here are some other things I learned:

Ever since the Met Costume Institute’s record-breaking Alexander McQueen exhibit closed, we’ve been itching to know what its successor would be. Well hear ye, ladies of quirk: Miuccia Prada and the legendary Elsa Schiaparelli are the next in line to be celebrated. While an official release from the museum has yet to be released, we’re thinking that WWD is a pretty credible source.

Both women brought Italian fashion into the spotlight but are known for very different styles. Schiaparelli was a close friend and collaborator of Salvador Dalí and repeatedly plucked from his surrealist inspirations. In fact, she is most known for her lobster dress of 1937, which was created in collaboration with Dalí (and once worn by Wallis Simpson). Prada, on the other hand, might need less of an introduction. Her titanic influence on the industry has been solidly felt across the world (as if spring’s infamous stripes didn’t say it on their own).

Curators Harold Koda and Andrew Bolton no doubt have some surprises up their sleeves, and we are dying to see what they have in store. Are they as excited as we are?

With so many press and wealthy clients in Paris for the haute couture shows, many of the luxury jewelers in the Place Vendome are using the occasion to launch new collections. So off I went to Van Cleef & Arpels to see their new Zips. It was the Duchess of Windsor (the sometimes scandalous, always stylish legendary Wallis Simpson) who first suggested in 1938 that the house craft a zipper necklace in precious materials, but it wasn’t until the 1950s that technology caught up with the duchess’s imagination. By then, Wallis was over it. And though her character is seen wearing a Zip in The King’s Speech, the real duchess never did.

Rumours: Steven Meisel apparently photographed Kristen McMenamy, Freja Beha Erichsen and Raquel Zimmermann for a Louis Vuitton campaign. [WWD]

The Telegraph‘s Belinda White really didn’t like the leather pants Brad Pitt wore to the Paris premiere of Megamind [Telegraph]

Tattoo artist Scott Campbell, who created Marc Jacobs’ SpongeBob ink, has made tattoo-print pieces for Louis Vuitton’s spring men’s line, which, he assures, is “not like Ed Hardy.” [The Cut]

More images have been released from Tom Ford‘s über-secret Spring 2011 womenswear collection. Terry Richardson, the only photog allowed at the show, snapped the collection as modelled by the likes of Liya Kebede, Stella Tennant, Lauren Hutton, Daphne Guinness and Beyoncé Knowles.  [Fashionologie]

Jewellery and other items from the expansive collection of the Duchess of Windsor, Wallis Simpson will be going on the auction block in London today. [Independent]

The Karl Lagerfeld-photographed Pirelli calendar was unveiled last night in Moscow. The mythology-themed calendar includes 5 male models and 15 female models including Julianne Moore. The Kaiser likens himself to “the visual version of Homer.”[WWD]