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.

As global trade tensions intensify and tariffs reshape the retail landscape, one Australian brand is choosing to scale rather than retreat.

Sydney-founded luxury label MAISON de SABRÉ is doubling down on the US market, pushing ahead with a bold expansion strategy despite rising cost pressures and broader global uncertainty.

While many brands are increasing prices or pausing shipments, MAISON de SABRÉ is holding its price point for customers and continuing to invest in its US operations.

The move reflects a deeper strategic play: a vertically integrated, zero-waste supply chain that allows the brand to deliver on cost, speed, and quality — even under pressure.

It’s this model, paired with consistent product innovation and sharp design, that has helped MAISON de SABRÉ build lasting equity in international markets.

At its pop-up in Bloomingdale’s, MAISON de SABRÉ is currently the top-selling brand in its category — a position it also holds in the top two across both Bloomingdale’s and Nordstrom’s online platforms.

Co-founder and CEO Omar Sabré says this is no accident.

“This is going to be a very difficult period for a lot of smaller brands — especially those relying on offshore mass production or single growth markets,” says Sabré.

“We’ve built a uniquely global model that can absorb shocks — from pricing pressure to supply chain disruption — while protecting customers and safeguarding long-term growth.”

Founded on a mission to deliver modern, accessible luxury, the brand hand-finishes its signature full-grain cowhide goods in Sydney, tested against a 13-point quality control protocol.

Sustainability is embedded, not just as a value but as a competitive advantage. MAISON de SABRÉ sources exclusively from LWG Gold-Rated tanneries, and its transition to DriTan™ leather — the world’s most sustainable tanning method — saves 25 million litres of water annually and reduces chemical use by 33%.

With 85% material utilisation, zero-waste production, and carbon offsetting on track by 2026, MAISON de SABRÉ is setting a new standard for sustainable craftsmanship at scale.

“We’ve always believed that staying close to the customer — operationally and emotionally — is what separates sustainable brands from short-term players,” says Sabré.

“This isn’t just about product. It’s about building systems that hold up in any climate.”

While competitors pivot or pause, MAISON de SABRÉ is executing a long-term strategy built on control, creativity, and disciplined growth. In a disrupted global retail market, the brand isn’t just weathering the storm — it’s shaping the new definition of modern luxury.

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

As tariffs bite, Sydney’s MAISON de SABRÉ is pushing deeper into the US, holding firm on pricing and proving that resilience in luxury means more than survival.