Elizabeth Taylor defined Hollywood glamour for generations of fans, so it’s fitting that even the way she disposed of her clothing was dramatic.
Known for her colorful couture and jaw-dropping jewelry, Taylor, who died in 2011 at the age of 79, took special care to preserve her designer wardrobe. According to Tim Mendelson — who served as Elizabeth Taylor’s personal and executive assistant for more than two decades and continues to serve, at her request, as a trustee of her estate and officer of The Elizabeth Taylor AIDS Foundation — Taylor had a bomb shelter in the basement of her Gstaad, Switzerland, chalet that served as her personal fashion archive.
But in the 1950s or 1960s, Mendelson told Page Six Style, a leak developed inside the bomb shelter and wreaked havoc on Taylor’s most priceless pieces. Faced with racks of irreparably water-damaged clothes, the “Butterfield 8” star held a huge bonfire to get rid of the ruined items — including looks that had been custom made by Coco Chanel herself in the famed apartment above her Paris atelier.
“She said she cried when that bonfire happened, because it was so sad to lose all that beautiful clothing,” Mendelson said. “Elizabeth did have a great appreciation for design and for material objects that had value, so she was very, very protective, particularly with the jewelry.”
Taylor’s love of sparkle is legendary. “You can’t cry on a diamond’s shoulder, and diamonds won’t keep you warm at night, but they’re sure fun when the sun shines!” she famously said; the latest book from the actress’s estate, “Pocket Elizabeth Taylor Wisdom: Witty and Wise Words from a True Icon,” includes many such quips.
According to Mendelson, Taylor only bought the best-quality stones, and prided herself in keeping them looking pristine. “When Christie’s eventually got ahold of her entire collection, they were extremely impressed and very surprised that everything was in such perfect condition,” he said, adding that the auction house often receives items that are bent or missing stones.
Continued Taylor’s confidant: “Because it was more than just jewelry to her, it was so much about the sentimental value, the memory of it. When she would travel, she bought jewelry as a souvenir — she liked to commemorate things.”
The superstar also liked to bring security guards along on her travels. “She always said ‘They’re just there to protect the jewelry,'” Mendelson said. “That’s what she saw as their main function.”
The “National Velvet” beauty stored her gems in a designated walk-in closet featuring five banks of narrow drawers filled with trays. “There was a small safe — not so small — but that was in her dressing room, and then downstairs in the office we had a huge safe where we kept the important pieces that she didn’t wear that often,” Mendelson explained.
Taylor kept her most precious piece, the famous Krupp Diamond, especially close. “It was insured as long as it was on her finger or in the safe, but she wore it all the time so it was always insured,” Mendelson said with a laugh.
Before she passed away, Taylor made it clear that she wanted her extraordinary collection to be shared with others. “She had a very sentimental relationship to her jewelry, but she also considered herself to be only a temporary custodian because she fully understood that one day all of that jewelry would go off into the world, and she just hoped that it would be appreciated,” Mendelson said.
He added that it was always Taylor’s hope that someone else could find the value in a 33-carat diamond ring or a diamond, sapphire and precious pearl necklace.
“She didn’t really want her jewelry to be in museums. She really wanted people to wear it and love it and celebrate with it in the same way that she did.”