A collection of hand-drawn sketches by the iconic fashiondesigner Karl Lagerfeld is up for auction in Miami later this month.

The rare sketches were created by Lagerfeld in the early 1960sfor the Italian fashion house Tiziani, where he began his career as a freelancedesigner.

Originating directly from the company’s archives, the sketchbooks and drawings will cross the block at Urban Culture Auctions, in association with Palm Beach Modern Auctions, in Florida on April 16.

In total, 125 original drawings and sketchbooks will beoffered for sale, with estimates ranging from $500 up to $4,000.

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However, following Lagerfeld’s recent passing in February 2019,renewed interest in his legacy could see them achieve even higher prices.

With a career spanning six decades, Karl Lagerfeld was oneof the fashion world’s most famous and influential designers.

Clothes Design Drawings Sketches

He served as the creative director for Chanel for over 35 years, and worked with Fendi for more than 50 years, as well as establishing his own long-running brand in 1984.

But back in 1963 Lagerfeld was just another young freelancedesigner in Rome, seeking to establish himself in the world of couture.

When American designer Evans Richards founded the fashion house Tiziani in 1963, he hired Lagerfeld to work closely alongside him, and he soon proved a hit with the company’s celebrity clients including Elizabeth Taylor, Gina Lollobrigida, and Principessa Borghese.

Lagerfeld went on to make a name for himself with brandssuch as Charles Jourdan, Chloé, Krizia, and Valentino, before beginning arelationship with Fendi in 1967 which would last until the end of his life.

His original designs remained tucked away in the Tizianiarchives, where they were saved for posterity by a series of owners over thedecades.

Fashion Sketches Of Dresses

Lagerfeld himself was renowned for discarding his sketches,and in a 2007 interview with The New Yorker, he claimed:

“I throw everything away! The most important piece offurniture in a house is the garbage can! I keep no archives of my own, nosketches, no photos, no clothes — nothing! I am supposed to do, I’m notsupposed to remember!”

Palm Beach Modern Auctions first offered a collection ofLagerfeld’s sketches from the Tiziani archives in 2014, in a sale whichattracted global attention.

Prior to the initial sale, auctioneer Rico Baca told theHuffington Post “It was not meant to be art, but as 50 years have gone by,it has become art because it was done by Lagerfeld.”

Following the legendary design’s death, this secondselection of rare designs and sketches looks set to take on added significance –and perhaps some added value as well.