Frame and Sotheby’s Celebrated Their Collab With a Very Fashionable Faux Auction

It’s not every day—or ever, really—that a storied auction house steps into the role of fashion collaborator. But last night, Sotheby’s broke the mold, partnering with Frame on a capsule collection celebrated with an unorthodox, joyfully chaotic dinner party.

Once the exclusive domain of blue-chip art and ancient artifacts, auction houses have in recent years shed their hushed reverence for a more charismatic identity. The auctioneer is now a digital-age celebrity, and the bidders—often boldface names—are part of the spectacle. It’s exactly this shift that Kristina O’Neill, Sotheby’s newly appointed Head of Media, sought to capture with the launch.

“It was fun to think about how a 281-year-old brand can kind of show up and shake things up,” said O’Neill, who co-hosted the evening with Lauren Santo Domingo, co-founder and chief brand officer of Moda Operandi. Starting today, Moda Operandi will be the exclusive online retailer for the capsule. “I have no doubt these pieces will end up on our rostrum—and on clients out in the world—but it’s also so much fun to see our fashionable friends cross over into this world. Kate [Young] in the Collector sweatshirt, Cass [Bird], Jenna [Lyons]…everyone’s interpreting it in their own way.”

The setting? Three Guys, the no-frills Upper East Side diner that for one night only became the buzziest reservation in town. Upon arrival, guests including Anna Weyant, Derek Blasberg, and James Perkins were handed auction paddles and a randomized stash of Frame x Sotheby’s “currency,” ready to bid on mystery lots ranging from capsule items to a six-pack of vintage Dom Pérignon.

Leading the sale was real-life Sotheby’s auctioneer Kimberly Pirtle—who also happens to star in the campaign imagery. The bidding was spirited (the champagne didn’t hurt), and as paddles flew and faux money fluttered, a few lucky guests walked away with the goods.

“Before Sotheby’s, I was at Prada and Miu Miu,” Pirtle told Vogue. “Coming from a fashion background, I know the dialogue between art and fashion is constant—but it’s rare for a brand to make that connection so explicit. That’s what makes this so exciting. It pushes the envelope.”

Dinner followed: towering burgers, cups of mac cheese, and diner-style carrot cake served from the bar counter. But many guests spilled out onto the sidewalk, cocktail in hand, gossiping beneath the glow of the Breuer Building across the street—soon to be Sotheby’s new home. One imagines that before long, the Frame capsule might become the unofficial uniform of its next generation of auctioneers.