Bob Carr fashions a loving farewell to a lifetime of memories with Helena

A collection from the wardrobe of the late Helena Carr goes under the auctioneer’s hammer later this month.

A collection from the wardrobe of the late Helena Carr goes under the auctioneer’s hammer on June 20.

The 77-year-old died in Vienna in October after suffering a brain aneurysm while on a European stopover from the US with her husband, the former NSW premier Bob Carr.

For five decades, the modest and humble Helena had been her husband’s constant supporter.

At her November funeral, Mr Carr said Helena had been the partnership’s “CEO, CFO, the chief strategist and the financial planner – which left me to be the entertainment director”.

Following her death, Mr Carr has set sentimentality aside and purposefully moved on with his life.

Some were surprised when the Labor stalwart snapped up an $8.8m apartment overlooking Coogee Beach at the start of the year, a serious upgrade on the view he and his late wife had enjoyed from the $173,000 Maroubra home they shared from 1979.

Former NSW premier Bob Carr and wife Helena in 2019.

A collection from the wardrobe of the late Helena Carr

goes under the auctioneer’s hammer on June 20.

Next comes the sale of what auction house Theodore Bruce has dubbed in its catalogue The Winter Collection of the Late Helena Carr.

The 274-lot collection of diminutive separates reveals the Malaysian-born economist and businesswoman’s quiet love of fashion and an eclectic taste that traversed the heights of fashion, from the celebrated European houses of Giorgio Armani, Salvatore Ferragamo, Moschino, Armani, Yves Saint Laurent, Ungaro and Christian Dior – to trusty budget-conscious Uniqlo.

In a nod to the Carrs’ shared love for chilly Europe, the collection features no less than 13 fur coats including eight minks in an array of colours. Bidding estimates price the coats from $200 to $3000 for the most expensively valued item in the catalogue, a full-length Shouwang China silver mink overcoat.

The collection also includes around 20 other luxe coats, along with fur and feathered vests, hats, and a collection of Helena’s signature scarfs and shoes.