Estate sale for Wichita fashion designer a 'museum from the 1960s'

The first thing you notice when you walk inside Letizia Fuhr’s home is the carpet — that is, if you make it past the pale green 1968 Mercury Cougar XR7 in the driveway.

Letizia Fuhr, 95, died on March 27. Fuhr was an Italian fashion designer who led the accredited college Art of Dress Design in Wichita.

Wichitans can wander through Fuhr’s colorful estate at 1502 S. Hillside this weekend, where her vintage clothing, jewelry, furniture and décor are for sale. Estate sale hours continue Saturday 9 a.m.-3 p.m. and Sunday 9 a.m.-noon.

Tammey Stubbs, owner of Stubbs Estates, said the home is a museum from the 1960s and 1970s, though Fuhr “didn’t touch a thing from 1975.”

Stubbs said when the sale opened on Thursday, there were around 150 people lined up outside, waiting to come in.

The “crowning glory” of the sale is the Cougar, which Stubbs Estates will be taking bids for until mid-July. The car is an original one-owner with 80,000 miles, Stubbs said.

Inside the house, two black and white fashion sketches are displayed on a wall near the entrance with painter’s tape, casual and striking when surrounded by gilded décor. Minutes later, the tape was the only clue that something was once there, if only for a brief moment — this is how fast Fuhr’s estate was being sold from her home.

Walking through the estate, which is open to the public for the first time in 50 years, mid-century modern furniture surrounds visitors — chartreuse armchairs, décor with clean lines, lamps and tables both geometric and organic in design are arranged in a spectacular yet functional format throughout the house.

Two Hollywood regency sofas dominate the center of the main room, a dark wood and glass coffee table between them. A square portrait of Fuhr on cardboard is displayed for sale on the table. In it, she sits with her legs crossed and hands folded politely in her lap, poised on the corner of a low white wall with flowering bushes behind her. A pink jacket pops in contrast to her stark white outfit.

Color is a theme within Fuhr’s belongings.

Greens, oranges and yellows cover the couches in speckled array, muted in comparison to the bright orange shag carpet. A two-tier chandelier hangs from a vaulted beam ceiling. To the left of a wide fireplace is a framed print of Italian renaissance artwork.

“She lived in high style,” Stubbs said. “Her Italian heritage shows through every piece of furniture she chose.”

Standing among rows of Fuhr’s clothing — skirt suits, striped pants and fur coats, to name a few — for sale at the far end of the main room, Stubbs said Fuhr’s designs went as far as Paris, Milan and New York.

“You could tell she had a lot of influence,” Stubbs said. “I’d love to know who has her dresses.”

A lime green hallway leading to the basement glows, reflecting natural light from the windows. A picture of three women hanging on the staircase wall reads, ‘We Design Together with Letizia.’

The basement is light and open, birch-colored paneling and light tiles a neutral backdrop to colorful fabric, patterns and designs that are scattered across desks, mannequins and taped to the walls.

A certificate of educational examination from the Italian National Teaching Organization issued to Fuhr for cutting and packaging women’s clothing sits behind a desk on the ledge of a chalkboard.

Back upstairs, the hallway that leads to the kitchen, the dining room and the TV room is reminiscent of the hall of mirrors in the Palace of Versailles; visitors walking toward the TV room gawk as the light bounces off of a wall entirely covered in mirrored tiles onto the wall opposite, adorned in golden wallpaper.

Fuhr’s estate is full of contrasts.

Colorful carpet balances the stoic walls inside the brick home. Mid-century modern furniture is mixed with gilded décor and stained glass windows. A traditional dining room is packed full of exquisite cutlery; on the opposite side of the home where the orange shag carpet turns to hot pink, the bedroom is colorful and neat.

A mannequin dressed in a blush pink cardigan and pants matches the light pink walls. Fuhr’s closet is organized in the hues of the rainbow from pink to blue, mannequin heads toting wigs in shades of light brown sit on a shelf above. A Walker’s of Wichita hat box rests on top of a wardrobe.

The style in which Fuhr chose to surround herself is vibrant, her home and belongings a colorful echo.

“She was well loved,” Stubbs said. “I didn’t know her, but I feel like I do.”

For more information on the estate sale, email Tammey Stubbs at tammey@stubbsestates.com or visit the Stubbs Estates website for in-depth photos.

This story was originally published July 6, 2018 at 6:46 PM.