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Camden News - by DAN CARRIER
Published: 16 October 2008

Cherie Blair’s ‘not bad looking’ suit

Wanted: bids in the Blair stitch project

Yellow suit that once belonged to ex-Prime Minister’s wife among lots at quirky auction

THEY normally deal in silver trinkets, antique furniture and highbrow art – but now an auctioneer in Hampstead is offering collectors the chance to buy a hand-me-down suit.
The catch: this yellow silk designer suit was once the property of Cherie Blair, the wife of ex-Prime Minister Tony Blair.
Not that the trail back to Downing Street seems to have made it a more expensive lot.
Set to go under the hammer tonight (Thursday) at Hampstead Art Auctions, the yellow-checked suit by designer Ronhit Zilka, has a guide price of just £30.
Bigger bids are expected for Queen Anne teapots, Victorian Corinthian columned candle sticks and French 18th-century beakers.
Auctioneer Colin Smith said the unusual addition to his sale came to him via a charity shop after its last owner couldn’t find a place for Cherie’s style in their wardrobe.
He said: “Cherie donated it to a school raffle and whoever won it decided it was not to their taste.”
The suit includes a letter proving its ownership signed by Mrs Blair and a Number 10 compliments slip.
He added: “It’s the first time I’ve auctioned a suit like this.
“I don’t think it will go because it was Cherie’s – I think it will go because its not a bad looking suit.”
And Mrs Blair’s clothing is joined on the sale bill by another first for the auction house.
Mr Smith is also offering graffiti artwork after meeting well-known urban artists working at a music festival.
He said: “I had been thinking about testing the market for urban art for some time, and then I came into contact with a crew of artists with pieces they could sell.
“They are well known in the UK graffiti scene and have attracted interest from collectors – the only problem they have faced is finding places to sell them.”
With the success of such graffiti artists as Banksy, whose works command six-figure sums, Mr Smith believes he is capturing a new trend in the British art market.
He said: “It is the sort of thing people want to put on their walls.
“Homes interiors are much more minimalist nowadays and fox-hunting scenes painted in the 18th century may not fit in.

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