Oct. 14 (UPI) — Some 1,000 personal items that belonged to British singer Amy Winehouse will head to auction in Beverly Hills, Calif., next month, a decade after the songstress’ untimely death.
The collection will feature a wide range of personal effects, including clothing, shoes and accessories.
Julien’s Auctions is presenting the auction in collaboration with Winehouse’s parents Nov. 6-7 in person in California and online. The collection was on exhibit in New York City this week at the Hard Rock Cafe and will go on display after the auction at the Design Museum in London.
The six-time Grammy Award winner — perhaps best known for the song “Rehab” — died July 23, 2011, of alcohol poisoning at age 27. She struggled with alcohol and drug addiction for much of her professional life.
Martin Nolan, executive director of Julien’s Auctions, said he worked with Winehouse’s parents for two years to curate the collection. Partial proceeds from the sales will go to the Amy Winehouse Foundation.
“It’s been a cathartic experience for them, but also a very emotional rollercoaster for parents to give up their daughter’s possessions,” Nolan told CNN.
“But they know that these items were going to go to fans and collectors and museums and investors all over the world that will continue to appreciate them, enjoy them, showcase them.”
Among the more well-known items included in the auction will be the custom, red, heart-shaped purse by Moschino that she frequently carried, the Tina Kalivas black-and-orange skirt she wore to perform for the 2008 Grammy Awards, a Dolce & Gabbana leopard-print pencil skirt she wore to the 2008 BRIT Awards, and multiple pairs of pink ballet slippers, which she was frequently photographed wearing.
A retrospective at the Design Museum, titled “Amy: Beyond the Stage,” will be the first exhibition about Winehouse’s life put on in Britain, The Guardian reported. In addition to the auction items, the show will feature an installation inspired by the Metropolis studio where she recorded. It will feature different rooms dedicated to her music and style and will be designed by artist Chiara Stephenson.
Priya Khanchandani, head of curatorial at the museum, said the show would focus on Winehouse’s influences in both music and fashion.
“It felt like there was something that had been left unsaid about Amy’s story and about her as a serious musician — the way she’d been reflected in the media had really diminished her legacy. There’s a lot of noise surrounding her story that has engulfed it and I’ve been trying to pick away at the layers, and make sure we tell the right story.”
