Cyndi Lauper is not a perfectionist. “I would call myself someone who either does it right or doesn’t do it,” she says as she adjusts one of the disco balls hanging from a mannequin in the Midtown Manhattan lobby of the Bonhams auction house. The room currently holds an array of Lauper’s iconic looks as part of the upcoming sale, Cyndi Lauper: Suitcase of Memories. Some are housed on disco ball-toting mannequins, others lined up in racks like you’re walking into Screaming Mimi’s, the famed NYC boutique where Lauper worked in the early ’80s. “We need way more disco balls,” Lauper looks around the room and exclaims, but not in a perfectionist’s tone.
The 73-year-old singer has decided now is the time to auction off her goods: over four decades worth of fashion, accessories, entertainment memorabilia, and personal mementos that trace the life and career of the “Girls Just Want to Have Fun” singer. “I hope this will inspire the older dames and people like me to remember how much fun it was to have that individual creativity,” she explains of the timing, which also happens to correspond with the 40th anniversary of her sophomore album, True Colors. “It’s also to inspire the young to look and go, ‘Yeah, I could do that.’”
The hero item of the sale is undoubtedly the hoop skirt covered in newspaper strips and Paper Magazine pages. The piece, worn with a blue and white tie-front blouse, was styled by Screaming Mimi’s founder Laura Wills and worn throughout the True Colors promotional cycle, including during an Annie Leibovitz photoshoot. “Laura just said, ‘Come on, we're going to do a paper skirt,’” Lauper recalled during a walkthrough of the space. “And we did not have a dress form. I was the dress form...We stapled it. I was good. A lot of the stuff that we did together, it was invention.”
There are many full designer looks on offer in the auction, particularly from the ’90s when Lauper had a more substantial budget and relationships with brands like Vivienne Westwood and Alexander McQueen. But a good portion of the ensembles are—like the paper skirt—comprised of vintage pieces and DIY projects. There is the pair of pajamas originally owned by her grandmother, accessorized with a homemade tulle bow, or the numerous looks that layer crinoline petticoats underneath voluminous skirts with corsets, vests, and button-downs on top. They’re draped in chains and jewels, accessorized with pins and hats that must sit just so. In fact, Lauper—while not a perfectionist—is very specific about the mannequins’ styling. While chatting, she frequently interrupts the flow of conversation to voice her displeasure at the displays.
“We didn’t wear it like that,” she says of a top and pants that should have been rolled up. “That’s backwards,” she comments on a skirt. A pair of suspenders spied in the auction’s catalog sends her into a tizzy. “Where are those suspenders?” she asks, though the answer is in front of her. “I’ve been looking for them.”
But now, they are out of her hands, on sale as part of the over 200 lots that make up the auction, which kicks off on October 22. At some point, Lauper will have to release control. Those who purchase her pieces are free to wear them however they wish, with sleeves rolled up or not. Below, the singer discusses her decision to put her entire archive up for sale, the one dress she might miss the most, and the contemporary singer who she feels is following in her chain-adorned, platform-booted footsteps.
Why did you feel like it was the right time to put all your clothes on display and to sell them?
I’m doing it now because we’ve all been corporatized so much that the individuality of creativity is getting squashed out. As big corporations buy up smaller companies, the creativity of those smaller companies eventually disappears. The color is drained and becomes beige. And there's nothing wrong with beige. The color of my skin is beige, but I think color is important. I think vibrancy and the individuality of creativity are very important.
Right now, we’re under this kind of weird dictatorship where they want to take away your vote and they want you to walk like sheep. And everything's for sale. That was never what this country was about. It'll go down in history as one of the more interesting times of this country if we can survive.
What was it like going through your archives to plan the sale?
It was pretty daunting, but I had to get rid of things. We sold our house and I’m glad because it was in Connecticut and that wasn’t great for us. When I first went there, I was so excited because of Pepperidge Farm, but it’s not like that. You think it’s going to be like that, but it’s not.
Do any specific stories come to mind as you look at these pieces?
This Pucci bathing suit [from a True Colors tour poster]. We shot that in Central Park. I remember standing in that shell, going “Ew, I don’t know what’s in this pond.”
Is there anything that was hard for you to give away?
Well, I wasn't sure about giving away the awards, but the truth is that I have a family and I have a kid with my husband and when you have all your awards up, it's a little oppressive for other people. You don't want that. And that's what happened. It was a mistake to have them up, so we took them all down.
But clothing-wise, you are OK with selling everything?
Oh, hun. I wanted to share, and I was excited to share. This dress [points to a floral strapless mini dress in the auction catalogue] I wore in Florida doing a movie, [Off and Running], as the mermaid with my husband, [David Thornton]. All these girls were chasing after him. After a while, I was looking at him and he was really cute. And I was like, "Why can't I chase after him? Maybe I don't have to. Where's that dress? Let me put on a Cindy Lauper dress.”
It’s a big deal to get rid of the dress you were wearing when you first started chatting with your future husband.
Why must I let it rot somewhere? I’d rather someone else wear it. It’s only stuff. What am I going to do? Hold onto it forever?
Do you look at any of this and think, “Oh my god, I can’t believe I wore that”?
No. Never. Because everything had a reason. I love Joan Rivers, but she didn't always understand my choices. But I didn't understand a lot of what she wore.
You mentioned wanting to inspire the next generation with this auction. Is there anyone coming up at the moment who you’re especially impressed with?
I think Chappell Roan is really great. I'm so proud of her for being able to be who she is and also to write songs about an alternative person in a natural way. I also think she has a wonderful voice. But listen, I also think Selena Gomez is an incredible young performer. She's a multimedia artist.