Barbara Walters’ Personal Pieces From Her Closet to Be Sold to Benefit Shop Repurpose
Luxury pieces from Barbara Walters’ closet are being made available in a curated sale to benefit Shop Repurpose. There are 134 items in total in the sale, including styles from Oscar de la Renta, Chanel, Giorgio Armani, Roberto Cavalli, Valentino, Donna Karan, Luisa Beccaria, Missoni and Tory Burch.
All proceeds from the sale will go to Shop Repurpose’s mission of providing job readiness training, workforce development opportunities and scholarships for higher education.
More from WWD
The American broadcaster and journalist, who died Dec. 30, 2022, at the age of 93, cohosted NBC’s “Today” show, ABC’s evening news, its “20/20” program and the all-women talk show “The View.” With a well-honed style sense, Walters had established personal friendships with Oscar de la Renta, Bill Blass and Carolina Herrera.
Prior to the online sale on Friday, Shop Repurpose has partnered with Women Work F#cking Hard (WWFH), along with Joanna Coles and Stephanie Ruhle, who will serve as hosts for a first look invite-only event on Thursday from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the Rimadesio flagship at 102 Madison Avenue in New York.
WWFH is a platform that empowers women through connection and amplifies their voices and businesses.
“We are gathering our awesome community of women for the unique opportunity to use their financial power for good by purchasing an item that the iconic Barbara Walters once wore,” said Kristin O’Keeffe Merrick, co-founder of WWFH. “We want to shine a light on the brilliant work of Shop Repurpose which not only focuses on upcycling but also directly impacts the community with the work they do with women,” said WWFH cofounder Lindsay Shookus.
Jesse Freschl, founder and executive director of Shop Repurpose, said, “Shop Repurpose is thrilled to be able to honor the legacy of such an iconic changemaker while simultaneously fostering the personal and professional development of future changemakers.”
Among the items being offered are a pristine Oscar de la Renta orange wool coat (S/M), that originally sold for $5,890, and is on sale for $2,945, and a red leather Chanel trenchcoat, in size small, which originally retailed for $11,300, and is on sale for $5,400. The sale also includes accessories, including gloves, scarves and a hat. The offerings will be available for viewing on Friday at shoprepurpose.org/collections/barbara-walters.
Separately, 120 glittery pieces from Walters’ $8 million estate will go under the gavel at Bonhams next month, as reported. The online sale got underway Sunday and the main event will be in New York on Nov. 6.
Best of WWD