EXCLUSIVE: Pharrell Williams' Joopiter Auction Platform Launches Marketplace

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INSTANT GRATIFICATION: Pharrell Williams' Joopiter platform is joining the ranks of auction houses that are countering the downturn in the art market by ramping up their offer of pre-owned luxury items and prestige collectibles for instant purchase.
The auction site, which sells items belonging to the music star and his A-list circle, said on Wednesday it was launching Joopiter Marketplace with items from the archives of five collectors: Williams, artist Tom Sachs, jeweler Lorraine Schwartz, entrepreneur and gallerist Easy Otabor and music executive Steven Victor.
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'Over the past three-and-a-half years, Joopiter has built an incredibly loyal following of collectors through our auctions who are also hungry for a proposition that's more instant,' John Auerbach, chief executive officer of Joopiter, said in a statement first shared with WWD.
'We've built Joopiter Marketplace to meet this demand, expand our community, and introduce sought-after items that only Joopiter can bring to market,' he added.
Highlights of the inaugural selection include a black version of Williams' signature Vivienne Westwood Buffalo hat, priced at $630; his customized black Timberland boots, selling for $4,200, and a sample white Billionaire Boys Club polo shirt identical to the one the singer wore in the video for his 2003 single 'Frontin'' – $735, with stains included.
Reflecting the growing and diverse market for prestige collectibles, the site offers art, sneakers, streetwear and limited-edition objects. Handbag collectors are likely to make a beeline for Schwartz's Hermès Ostrich Tri-Color Birkin 35 with Palladium Hardware, on offer for $36,900.
Alongside a selection of her own designs, she's letting go of some jewelry from the collection of Elizabeth Taylor, including a matching bracelet and necklace featuring cultured and freshwater pearls with gold cherubs designed by Beverly Hills jeweler William Ruser.
'Elizabeth Taylor loved her jewels and she actually told her life through jewels, which was unbelievable. So after she passed, I went to the auction. I bought so much stuff because it was my connection to her,' Schwartz said.
Otabor, who was an operator and buyer for RSVP Gallery, the Chicago concept store cofounded by Don C and the late Virgil Abloh, has included a RSVP Gallery x Off-White x Nike T-shirt priced at $285, among pieces linked to the late Off-White founder and head of menswear at Louis Vuitton.
Proceeds from these items will benefit both the Rebuild Foundation founded by artist Theaster Gates and the Virgil Abloh Foundation, supporting community-focused creativity and education, Joopiter said.
In the pipeline are items from the collections of Kenzo creative director Nigo; Sarah Andelman, the founder of consulting agency Just an Idea and previously the purchasing and image director of landmark boutique Colette; producer and DJ Pedro Winter; model and musician Soo Joo Park, and Hermès collector Jane Angert, aka Janefinds, among others.
'Joopiter was founded to not only introduce a new voice into the auction landscape, but to recalibrate what it means to be a collector. With Joopiter Marketplace, we are bolstering our founding principles by expanding our ecosystem. We are excited to bring these objects to the world,' said Williams, who succeeded Abloh as Vuitton's creative director of menswear.
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