MONACO (REUTERS) - Personal belongings of the late designer Karl Lagerfeld, including his trademark fingerless leather gloves and the cushions his cat Choupette sat on, are to go on sale in a series of auctions that begin in Monaco this week.

Lagerfeld, who died in 2019, was an icon of the fashion industry, celebrated as much for his distinctive personal style of gloves, sunglasses and ponytail as he was for the fashion he designed for Chanel and other houses.

The collection of belongings, being auctioned by Sotheby's, has items from his personal wardrobe and the furniture, accessories and art which decorated his many homes.

Bids are also invited for a model of Choupette with an estimated price of €5,000 to €7,000 (S$7,000 to S$10,000), and a figurine of Lagerfeld made out of PVC, metal and rhinestones, with a price estimate of €200-300.

Elaborate trunks and suitcases that Lagerfeld took with him when he travelled, three Rolls-Royce cars and a pair of chrome-plated dumbbells owned by the famously body-conscious designer, are also included in the sale.

"This collection is emblematic of Karl Lagerfeld's taste,"Pierre Mothes, vice-president of Sotheby's in France, told Reuters at a preview of the collection.

"It gives a sense of his aesthetic choices, his personality, the man he was, and the private life that was hidden behind the facade we all know, that of a great designer."

After Monaco on Dec 3-5, the sale moves to Paris later in December, then on to Cologne early next year.