The Market Signal: 500+ Lots of Screen-Worn Fashion Hit Julien's Auctions

Julien's Auctions is preparing to offer more than 500 costumes and props from HBO's Sex and the City and its sequel series And Just Like That…, placing some of television's most iconic wardrobe pieces squarely in the crosshairs of collectors and alternative asset investors alike. Pre-sale estimates on marquee lots — including Carrie Bradshaw's tulle skirt from the original title sequence and her custom Manolo Blahnik collection — are expected to range from a few thousand dollars to well into six figures. For investors tracking the entertainment memorabilia market, this is one of the most significant single-consignment fashion auctions in recent memory, and the numbers deserve serious attention.

The entertainment memorabilia sector has posted remarkable growth over the past decade. Heritage Auctions reported that its film and television memorabilia category surpassed $50 million in annual sales in 2023, up from roughly $18 million five years earlier — representing a compound annual growth rate of approximately 22%. Screen-worn costumes from culturally significant properties have proven especially resilient. A Marilyn Monroe dress sold for $4.8 million at Julien's in 2016, while Audrey Hepburn's Breakfast at Tiffany's Givenchy gown fetched £467,200 at Christie's as far back as 2006. The cultural staying power of Sex and the City, which has driven over $1 billion in HBO subscription revenue across its franchise lifespan, suggests that premium lots from this sale could appreciate substantially in the secondary market.

Why This Matters: Scarcity, Cultural Capital, and Demand Dynamics

The investment thesis here rests on three pillars. First, scarcity: these are one-of-one items. Unlike limited-edition watches or bottled whisky, there is precisely one version of the tutu Carrie Bradshaw wore in the opening credits. Once sold, the only way to acquire it is from the buyer — and they set the price. Second, cultural capital: Sex and the City occupies a unique position in the fashion-entertainment intersection. The show is widely credited with transforming Manolo Blahnik from a niche luxury label into a household name, driving an estimated 30% spike in the brand's sales during the show's original run from 1998 to 2004. That kind of brand-defining cultural influence does not depreciate. Third, demand is broadening: the collector base for fashion memorabilia has expanded beyond traditional Hollywood enthusiasts to include fashion houses, museums, and institutional buyers. The Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume Institute, for example, has increasingly acquired screen-worn pieces for its permanent collection, establishing a floor of institutional demand.

  • 10-year appreciation (entertainment memorabilia): +180% across top-tier lots at major auction houses
  • Single-consignment scale: 500+ lots, making this one of Julien's largest themed fashion sales
  • Franchise revenue base: $1B+ across HBO subscriptions, syndication, and merchandise — underpinning long-term cultural relevance
  • Institutional demand trend: Museums and fashion houses increasingly acquiring screen-worn costume as both archive material and appreciating assets

Comparative Context: Fashion Memorabilia vs. Other Alternative Assets

Investors should weigh this auction against comparable alternative asset classes. Fine wine, as tracked by the Liv-ex 1000 index, returned approximately 39% over the past five years. Rare whisky, per the Knight Frank Luxury Investment Index, posted 280% growth over the past decade before moderating recently. High-end watches, measured by the WatchCharts Overall Market Index, saw a 20% correction from their 2022 peak but remain well above pre-pandemic levels. Entertainment memorabilia sits in an interesting position within this spectrum: it offers lower liquidity than wine or watches, but its lot-by-lot uniqueness creates pricing power that fungible assets cannot match. A comparable analogy would be trophy art — a Basquiat is not interchangeable with another Basquiat, and neither is Carrie Bradshaw's Vivienne Westwood wedding gown interchangeable with any other costume lot.

The risk factors are worth noting. Authenticity verification, storage and conservation costs, and illiquidity on shorter time horizons all apply. Julien's provides certificates of authenticity and provenance documentation sourced directly from HBO's costume department, which mitigates the first concern. Storage is manageable for textiles kept in climate-controlled conditions. Illiquidity, however, remains the primary drag — investors should view these acquisitions on a five-to-ten-year horizon at minimum.

Investment Takeaway

For high-net-worth investors with an existing allocation to tangible alternative assets, the Julien's Sex and the City auction presents an asymmetric opportunity on select marquee lots. Focus on items with the strongest cultural recognition — the title-sequence tutu, the Manolo Blahnik pairs, and any pieces documented in the show's most-referenced scenes. These carry the deepest provenance and the broadest buyer pool at future resale. Avoid mid-tier costume lots without strong visual recognition, as these tend to plateau after initial purchase. Set a strict acquisition budget, bid with discipline, and treat this as a long-duration, low-correlation addition to a diversified alternatives portfolio.

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💼 Interested in alternative asset investment? Speak to the team at Whisky Cask Club — Singapore's leading whisky cask investment specialists.