Cyndi Lauper auctions fashion archive at Bonhams — SkimNews
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- Bonhams hosts "Cyndi Lauper: A Suitcase of Memories," a two-part auction — Part I live in New York on October 22, Part II online through October 23.
- Lauper sold more than 50 million records across her career; her 1983 debut "She's So Unusual" was the first debut album by a woman to yield four top-five singles.
- The collection spans her career — leopard-print pajamas from the "Girls Just Want to Have Fun" video (originally a Frederick's of Hollywood order), the metal bra from "True Colors," and a red plaid dress from the inaugural VMAs.
- Lauper defended her 2023 collaboration with Nicki Minaj, who has since aligned with Donald Trump, telling the outlet she does not "believe in cancellation" because "otherwise there's no room for discussion."
- Looking ahead to the midterms, Lauper called the auction timely and credited "Mamdani" with potentially driving billionaires out of New York and giving artists "our city back."
- Chappell Roan — who wore a replica of Lauper's newspaper skirt when inducting her into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame last year — is one of the few current artists Lauper says she relates to, citing "Pink Pony Club" as a landmark for LGBTQ+ representation.
Why it matters: The auction monetizes Lauper's five-decade visual archive just one year after she retired from live performance, while her remarks on Minaj, Mamdani, and "braces on our brains" deliberately frame the sale as a midterm-season statement about individuality. For collectors, it is a one-shot window into an archive assembled across 50 million records' worth of career that will not be reassembled.
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