A necklace worn by Meryl Streep on set starts at $8,000, a black velvet dress designed for Lady Gaga reaches $20,000: from Tuesday, September 15, Christie’s in New York is auctioning the costumes and jewelry from The Devil Wears Prada 2, while on the other side of the art market attention is growing for the auction of works by Yayoi Kusama, the Japanese artist who passed away at 97 on August 14. Two stories that tell the same trend: the boundary between art, fashion, and entertainment is thinning, and auction houses are riding the wave.
Key points
- Christie’s New York is selling until September 15 costumes and jewelry used on the set of The Devil Wears Prada 2.
- Yayoi Kusama died on August 14 at the age of 97; the news was made public only two weeks later.
- In 2022 a work by Kusama reached an auction record of $10.5 million.
- Hong Kong accounted for 46.1% of Kusama lots sold in Asia in 2025.
- The proceeds from the Devil Wears Prada 2 auction will go to the Committee to Protect Journalists and the Council of Fashion Designers of America.
The Christie’s auction with memorabilia from The Devil Wears Prada 2
Until Tuesday, September 15 Christie’s New York is offering a selection of costumes, accessories, and props from the sequel to the famous film starring Meryl Streep, the movie that twenty years ago helped build one of the most recognizable imaginaries in the fashion industry.
Key pieces and estimated prices
Among the most anticipated lots is Meryl Streep’s necklace, estimated between $8,000 and $12,000, and the black velvet dress with fluttering feathers worn by Lady Gaga in another scene of the film, valued between $15,000 and $20,000. There is also a black and white Schiaparelli jacket ($4,000–6,000), a prototype of the famous red Valentino Garavani Rockstud pumps designed for the actress ($500–1,000), and a Tiffany bracelet worn by Emily Blunt in the film, estimated between $20,000 and $30,000.
Beneficiaries of the auction proceeds
The proceeds from the sale will be donated to the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) and the Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA), two organizations that combine the protection of press freedom with the promotion of creativity in the U.S. fashion sector.
The artistic legacy and market influence of Yayoi Kusama
Kusama’s death, announced on August 14 but made public only two weeks later, sparked a collective tribute in the worlds of art, fashion, and design around a figure capable of narrowing the distance between seemingly distant universes.
Collaboration with Louis Vuitton
The turning point came in 2012, when Marc Jacobs, then artistic director of Louis Vuitton, decided to integrate Kusama’s iconic polka dots into the maison’s visual universe. It was not a simple decorative operation: contemporary art entered the brand’s identity, Kusama’s dots combined with the Vuitton monogram, black and white, red and white, yellow and black. Geometric rigor met the explosion of form, and the collection achieved a success that went beyond sales: it strengthened the attributes on which luxury builds its value — rarity, uniqueness, exclusivity, originality — while Kusama gained a huge audience and became a pop icon.
Auction records and market presence
From that collaboration onward, the value of Kusama’s works rose sharply. In 2019 Interminable Net #4 (1959) reached $7.9 million; in 2022 Untitled (Nets) (1959) set the auction record for Kusama at $10.5 million. The most valuable pumpkin remains Pumpkin (Lpasg), 2013, sold by Christie’s in Hong Kong for over $8 million. It is no coincidence that Hong Kong is now one of the main venues for the artist’s works: in the Asian city, 46.1% of Kusama lots sold in Asia in 2025 were concentrated. Whether the artist’s passing will lead to a further rise in prices will be determined by the market in the coming months; her artistic language and the strength of her mark remain in any case untouchable by price dynamics.
The intersection between art, fashion, and pop culture in auctions
The Kusama case and the auction dedicated to The Devil Wears Prada 2 illustrate an increasingly solid relationship between art, luxury, and pop culture, capable of shaping the strategies of major international auction houses.
Expansion of auction categories
From a market perspective, the sale of film memorabilia represents another step in the expansion of the operational perimeter of major auction houses toward increasingly hybrid categories. In recent years Sotheby’s and Christie’s have broadened their scope beyond traditional visual arts, including sneakers, bags, video games, memorabilia, and cars. Social media, meanwhile, further amplify the recognizability of symbols such as Kusama’s dots, helping to transform works and props into desirable goods even outside traditional collecting circuits.
FAQ
Which items from The Devil Wears Prada 2 are being auctioned at Christie’s?
The auction includes costumes and jewelry such as the necklace worn by Meryl Streep and the black velvet dress worn by Lady Gaga.
How have Yayoi Kusama’s works performed at auction in recent years?
Kusama’s works have seen rising prices, with a record of $10.5 million in 2022 and an $8 million sale for the 2013 sculpture Pumpkin (Lpasg).
Who will receive the proceeds from The Devil Wears Prada 2 auction?
The proceeds will be donated to the Committee to Protect Journalists and the Council of Fashion Designers of America.
How did Yayoi Kusama collaborate with the fashion world?
In 2012 Kusama collaborated with Louis Vuitton, under the artistic direction of Marc Jacobs, integrating her famous polka dots into the maison’s designs.
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As expert in digital marketing, Amelia began working in the fintech sector in 2014 after writing her thesis on Bitcoin technology. Previously author for several international crypto-related magazines and CMO at Eidoo. She is now the co-founder and editor-in-chief of The Cryptonomist and Econique.
She is also a marketing teacher at Digital Coach in Milan and she published a book about NFTs for the Italian publishing house Mondadori, while she is also helping artists and company to entering in the sector. As advisor, Amelia is also involved in metaverse-related project such as The Nemesis and OVER.
