Auctions | June 14, 2013

Rare Magazine Collection in a Vuitton Portfolio at Bonhams

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Fashion Special, edition 18 of the contemporary fashion, art and design periodical, Visionare, which comes in a monogrammed Louis Vuitton portfolio and sold its entire 2,500 print run in less than three weeks is to be sold at Bonhams Books, Maps, Manuscripts and Photographs sale in Knightsbridge London on 19 June.  It is part of a collection of 53 issues of Visionaire, for sale as one lot, estimated at £15,000-20,000.

Visionaire was first published in 1991 and has appeared three times a year in numbered, limited editions ever since.  No two editions are alike and each features a different theme — Hype!, Woman, Desire, Where?, Touch, Seven Deadly Sins and Uncensored being among the titles.  Numerous artists, photographers, designers and collaborators have contributed including Mario Testino, Bruce Weber, Helmut Lang, Richard Avedon, Sam Taylor Wood, Mario Serrenti, David Bowie, Tracey Emin, Alexander McQueen, John Galliano, Karl Lagerfield, Gucci, Versace, Hermes, Dior, Louis Vuitton and Prada.

The collection for sale comprises numbers 6-13, 16-46 and 48-61 and among other notable editions are:

20, Comme des Garcons produced in collaboration with the late Alexander McQueen and with a dress pattern printed in muslin

32 Where? with postcards designed by Bruce Weber in a Hermes travel pouch

53 Sound consisting of five 12 inch vinyl records and a battery operated toy car that operates as a record player

Bonhams specialist Simon Roberts said,” Visionaire collections of this size rarely come onto the market.  This is a great opportunity to acquire a major part of this wonderfully imaginative and original magazine’s output.”