Kusama breaks house record

Fellows broke a house record for price achieved on a Louis Vuitton Neverfull handbag. The limited-edition Pumpkin Dot Neverfull MM handbag more than doubled its estimate and sold for £2,041.60 price realised. The bag was designed in collaboration with the highly lauded Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama. The handbag achieved the highest figure for any Louis Vuitton Neverfull sold at Fellows. This was the first Neverfull handbag Fellows have sold for a higher price realised than £1,000.

Fellows’ Designer Collection shows that the Kusama allure isn’t limited to art auctions at the big three houses. According to Sotheby’s, the average compound annual return for Yayoi Kusama resold at auction between 2003 and 2017 was 26.2%. 92.3% of 65 such works increased in value. This particular handbag prompted a bidding war between three telephone lines and room bidders, before eventually selling to a phone bidder.

A Louis Vuitton limited edition Yayoi Kusama Pumpkin Dot Neverfull MM handbag from Fellows’ Designer Collection

Sophie Higgs, specialist from Fellows, said: “Without a doubt the Neverfull is one of Louis Vuitton’s most popular handbag designs so when we consigned the limited edition Pumpkin Dot Neverfull we knew it would draw attention. Designed by the highly acclaimed artist Yayoi Kusama, the applied pattern is extremely striking and it is rare to find in such good condition second hand. With the design no longer in production we are delighted that it reached a record £2,041 price realised, the most any Neverfull has sold for at Fellows.”

Higgs added: “Louis Vuitton’s hard cased luggage is the foundation of the House of Louis Vuitton. We were excited to receive such a large number of cases to auction as they are extremely collectable, desirable pieces that usually appear seldom at auction. Unsurprisingly all of the items sold and we couldn’t be happier. We had some amazing feedback from the auction and from our earlier viewing from the customers who were interested in the history of the cases, speculating on their journeys around the globe. They are always a real taking point.”

Louis Vuttion items from Fellows’ Designer Collection

The allure for Louis Vuitton luggage has only grown over the years, both at Fellows and other renowned houses. An aluminium explorer trunk sold for £162,500 at Christie’s in December 2018 and the last Designer Collection saw a number of Louis Vuitton pieces sell for a total hammer price of £40,705.

Fellows’ largest selection of vintage hard Louis Vuitton cases to ever go under the hammer didn’t disappoint as the items sold for a full hammer price of £7,740*. An extensive catalogue of over 50 other Louis Vuitton items and 10 vintage Louis Vuitton monogram cases made a total of £29,670*. [*hammer price]

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