Christie’s Dives Deep Into Emerging Collecting Categories

Christie’s launched two major initiatives this week in an attempt to cater to younger collectors: Department X, which will focus on streetwear and pop culture, and Christie’s 3.0, a platform to handle NFT sales fully on blockchain.

Department X, launched Monday, will be led by Caitlin Donovan, a founding member and current head of the department of handbags and accessories at Christie’s Americas. She has been working on specialized sales of sneakers, streetwear, and other luxury collectibles over the past three years.

“With exciting sales that will cross several genres of popular culture and collecting–music, fashion, and sports history—I am excited for new and existing clients of Christie’s to embark on this journey with us,” she said in a news release Tuesday.

The department will hold online auctions, with previews in New York, as well as private selling exhibitions throughout the year. The debuting private selling exhibition will showcase two pairs of Nike Air Yeezy sneakers designed by rapper and fashion designer Kanye West.

One pair, the Nike Air Yeezy 1 prototype was the first sneaker West designed with Nike creative director Mark Smith and designer Tiffany Beers. The other pair, the Nike Donda West Air Jordan VI, was designed for West’s mother and never released for public sale.

Christie’s is a latecomer to the emerging category of sneakers and streetwear. Its largest competitor Sotheby’s established a department dedicated to this collecting space–with online sales only–in the first half of 2020. Bonhams has had a department handling auctions, both live and online, of pop culture collectibles, including film, entertainment, music, and sporting memorabilia, since the early 1980s.

On Tuesday, Christie’s launched Christie’s 3.0, a platform to enable NFT sales fully on the Ethereum blockchain network. The marketplace was developed in collaboration with three leading companies in the Web3 community: Manifold, Chainalysis, and Spatial.

The new platform has incorporated compliance and taxation tools and will feature high-quality digital artworks and curated collections, according to Nicole Sales Giles, Christie’s director of digital art sales.

The inaugural sale, running from Sept. 18 through Oct. 11, will feature nine NFTs specifically created by visual artist Diana Sinclair to launch Christie’s 3.0. Estimates range from ETH 4 to 8 (US$5,245 to US$10,489).

Sinclair, 18, was recognized by Fortune as one of the top 50 most influential people in the NFT space. She is the curator behind Digital Diaspora, a Juneteenth exhibition that highlights the work of Black artists and creatives in the NFT community.

Last year, she also collaborated with the estate of Whitney Houston to create a digital video featuring rare archival photos of the late singer that sold for approximately US$1 million.

Klaus Busse would like you to close your eyes and imagine yourself behind the wheel of a Maserati. Picture the GranTurismo, which launched in Australia in 2024. Where do you see yourself? Chances are, Busse suggests, it’s not during the school pick-up or commuting to the office.

“You’re probably on a wonderful road in Tuscany, or Highway 1, or you’re going to a red carpet event,” says Busse, who holds the enviable title of Head of Design at Maserati, the iconic Italian car manufacturer. “Basically, it’s about emotion.”

At the luxury end of the market, the GranTurismo Coupe—priced between $375,000 and $450,000—is designed to transform the driving experience into something extraordinary. For Busse and his team, these “sculptures on wheels” are not just status symbols or exhilarating machines but expressions of pure joy. Their mission is to encapsulate that feeling and translate it into their cars.

“I really feel the responsibility to create emotion,” he says. “We have a wonderful word in Italy: allegria, which is best translated as ‘joyful.’ Our job as a brand is to lift you into this area of joy, perfectly positioned just short of ecstasy. It’s that tingling sensation you feel in your body when you drive the car.”

Even as 60 percent of the world’s population now lives in urban areas, Maserati’s design ethos captures the essence of “everyday exceptional.” Whether navigating city streets or open roads, a Maserati turns heads without being ostentatious or aggressive. “I’ve driven these cars all over the world, and no matter where I go, people smile at me and give a thumbs-up,” says Busse.

Since joining Maserati in 2015, Busse has reimagined and redefined the brand, steering his team through the reinvention of classic models and the transition to electric vehicles. Iconic designs like the Fiat 500, which entered the EV market in 2020, serve as a testament to Maserati’s ability to blend tradition with innovation.

Unlike other luxury car brands, Maserati embraces radical change with new designs every 10 to 15 years. Busse loves connecting with fans who follow the brand closely. He explains that each Maserati model reflects a specific era, from the elegant 35GT of the 1950s to the wedge-shaped designs of the 1970s and the bold aesthetics of the 1980s.

“I often ask fans, ‘What is Maserati for you?’ because their responses tell me so much about how they connect with the brand,” he shares.

Inspired by legendary Italian designer Giorgetto Giugiaro, Busse balances tradition with modernity in his designs. As Giugiaro once told him, “We always do the best in the moment.” This philosophy resonates deeply with Busse, who believes in honouring the past while embracing future possibilities.

Through advances in technology, techniques, and societal trends, Busse ensures Maserati remains at the forefront of automotive design. For him, the creative process is more than just a job—it’s a way to create joy, connection, and timeless elegance.

Christie’s Dives Deep Into Emerging Collecting Categories—Sneakers and NFTs

Ever wondered what it takes to create a car like the Maserati? Meet the German designer taking on an Italian icon.