Cyndi Lauper’s career has always been inseparable from her image, built as much on style as on sound. This October, four decades of that archive arrive at Bonhams’ New York headquarters, where the exhibition "Cyndi Lauper: Suitcase of Memories" will auction off her collection of fashion, accessories, and show business memorabilia.
Few careers have covered as much ground as Lauper’s. A Grammy, Emmy, and Tony winner with over 50 million records sold, she made history with She's So Unusual (1983)—the first debut album by a female artist to produce four top-five singles—and went on to record enduring classics such as "Girls Just Want to Have Fun," "Time After Time," and "True Colors."
An inductee into both the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and the Songwriters Hall of Fame, she became the first female solo artist to win the Tony Award for Best Original Score for Kinky Boots.
Today, amidst a farewell tour, a Las Vegas residency, and ongoing work in musical theater, she remains as tireless an advocate as she is an artist, championing women, people living with HIV/AIDS, and the LGBTQ+ community through her "Girls Just Want to Have Fundamental Rights Fund."
Cyndi Lauper is inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and the Songwriters Hall of Fame.
That same versatility defines the collection, which spans everything from her early performances to her most celebrated appearances: vintage and stage-worn pieces from Screaming Mimi's—the legendary New York boutique she frequented early in her career—alongside designs by Vivienne Westwood and Alexander McQueen.
For Lauper, revisiting her archive offered a chance to reflect on the creative relationships that inspired it. "Going through my archives for this auction allowed me to look back on the incredible collaborators I’ve had the privilege of working with over the years. I wanted this collection to bring together the things that have always been connected for me: art, music, and fashion. To me, fashion is art, and these pieces represent that creative journey."
Taken together, the collection and the accompanying words point to the same idea: that Lauper’s career has never separated art from identity, and that the items on offer are a testament to both collaboration and style.