The Heritage of Geneviève Ley

Trained under Joseph Beuys in Düsseldorf, she taught fine arts and designed costumes for theatre and cinema, while leading a life attuned to music, nocturnal creation and an aesthetic in which everything – from her canvases to her interiors – became a work of art.

Today, her estate announces a twofold initiative to carry this legacy forward: a major donation to three leading museums – the Victoria & Albert Museum (London), MoMu (Antwerp) and the Museum für Gestaltung (Zurich) – alongside the sale of more than 150 pieces from her personal collection. Entitled “Boudoir d’avant-garde”, the sale will run online on Drouot.com until 28 September, under the hammer of Saint Auction, led by auctioneer Chloë Collin, during Paris Fashion Week 2025. 

“Geneviève lived daily surrounded by her paintings, interiors and garments. Sharing them with museums ensures her vision remains alive, while bringing selected works to market allows new chapters to be written,” notes her son, Louis William Wagner Ley, who is overseeing the estate.
The event brings together more than 180 garments and accessories by Comme des Garçons (Rei Kawakubo and Junya Watanabe) and Yohji Yamamoto, including Kawakubo’s deconstructed silhouettes, Watanabe’s sculptural textile innovations, and Yamamoto’s poetic tailoring – alongside iconic designs by Martin Margiela and Jean-Paul Gaultier’s celebrated corsets.

These pieces will be on view at Galerie Joseph (43 rue de Tournelles, Paris 3rd arrondissement) on 20 and 21 September: Saturday 20 September from 11am to 9pm, and Sunday 21 September from 10am to 7pm.