by A sale at Julien’s Auctions in Los Angeles is garnering huge bids Friends fanatics the world over, as clothing and memorabilia from the sitcom goes under the hammer on September 23 to coincide with the 30th anniversary of the first episode gracing our screens.
From a gray roll neck sweater worn by Jennifer Aniston’s Rachel Green in the episode The Man With The Truth About Londonon an embroidered denim long coat worn by the character Phoebe Buffay, played by Lisa Kudrow in The One With Joey’s Awarditems are available from the wardrobes of all six of the much-loved main characters.
A gray turtleneck sweater worn by Jennifer Aniston’s Rachel will go up for auction
As Phoebe Buffay, played by Lisa Kudrow, wears this embroidered denim coat
Cameo costumes are also up for grabs; a dress shirt worn by Paul Stevens with Bruce Willis and an ensemble worn by Cecilia Monroe, played by Susan Sarandon. Online bidding has already begun, with items like “Rachel’s sweater” more than four times their estimates.
Fans of the show will have the opportunity to own this dress shirt worn by Bruce Willis as Paul Stevens
Whether it was Rachel’s mini-felts and waistcoats, Monica Geller’s high-waisted trousers and cropped T-shirts, Chandler Bing’s vintage sweater vests or Joey Tribbiani’s Armani leather jackets, each character i. Friends They had their own distinct visual identity, which developed with them over the ten seasons the show ran.
“When you see these pieces you immediately know which one Rachel and Ross wore because each character had their own unique style,” says Laura Woolley, managing director, head of consignments and appraisals at Julien’s Auctions.
“The characters in Friends They were so relatable and lovable which translated to his style and charm. We all felt like we were part of the gang and we would laugh and cry with them.”
Each season from 1994 to 2004 had its own style, moving with the times from the plaid shirts of the nineties and big layered hair, to the slimmer tailoring and iron trousers that came with the passing of the century and the maturity of the Century. characters.
Although it was one of the first shows that Debra McGuire worked on as a costume designer, her vision and fine art background shaped the look of the Central Perk group.
“Since I’m a painter, I thought the best way to start was to think of the costumes as if they were in a two-dimensional painting,” she said. The Telegraph in 2016.
“Because there were six characters and they were together a lot of the time, the idea was to create tableaux, and work with the production designer and costume designer to coordinate an ensemble look that was unique and visually appealing two dimensional. surface, thinking about color, line and texture.”
Thanks to this approach, Joey threw in Ben Sherman’s striped shirt The One After Joey And Rachel Kiss as iconic as a replica of the Central Perk orange sofa, both of which are plentiful in the auction.
Sometimes even the clothes themselves got in the way – often for Ross Geller in particular. Who could forget The Man With All The Secretswhere David Schwimmer’s character overheats in a pair of leather trousers on a date, or in his infamous red sweater, eventually revealing that he is the father of Rachel’s unborn child. The One With The Red Sweater. Sadly, none of those items are up for auction this time, but the pieces that are up for sale still feel completely intrinsic to the characters and the plot.
This is permanent Friends style not only infiltrated the mainstream (hands up who else went to the hair salon for “Rachel”), but had an appeal to high-end fashion designers, too. Tom Ford’s late partner Richard Buckley told McGuire in the mid-2010s that they were watching the age Friends episode every night while eating dinner, and that Ford had said as well as the costumes aged. For its AW2018 collection, Balenciaga whimsically referenced Joey wearing all of Chandler’s clothes in The One Place No One Is Ready when he designed a seven-layer parka coat – which was not lost on this journalist who was sitting in the audience, frantically searching Joey for appropriate memes to post on social media.
Even now, at New York and London Fashion Weeks, designers are parading the types of looks many of the Friends characters would have given up. In New York, preppy was a big theme; I could see in season five Rachel Green wearing a spring 2025 long line blazer from Tommy Hilfiger or Ralph Lauren, for example (the character worked at Ralph Lauren, so it figures). Meanwhile, Staud’s tight vests would be a great addition to Monica Geller’s wardrobe, while Phoebe’s boho chic is always relevant: see Temperley London for details.
Of course, Rachel’s sweater and Phoebe’s coat will be quite popular, but Chandler Bing’s sweater is expected to be one of the most popular since the death of actor Matthew Perry in October last year. “Matthew Perry’s iconic Cashmere Chandler Bing sweater, one of the bittersweet highlights of this auction, currently has the highest bids registered,” notes Woolley. The same goes for items worn by actor James Michael Tyler, who died in 2021. “Gunther’s purple shirt and colorful tie have already exceeded their original estimate.”
A cashmere sweater worn by the late Matthew Perry as Chandler Bing currently holds the highest bids
And who’s going to buy these pieces of pop cultural history? It’s anyone’s guess, with Friends having been discovered by a new generation of Y2K fashionistas and original fans like myself still referencing the show sartorially on a daily basis. Woolley agrees: “my friends the global appeal was huge and multi-generational so we’re looking forward to a diverse range of fans from all over the world offering this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to own a little piece of Central Perk.”
