An iconic Cher costume doubled its estimate to reach the top price at Julien’s Auctions’ Bold Luxury sale in Los Angeles yesterday, March 27.
The catsuit and leather jacket ensemble was put together by Bob Mackie for a 2002 tour. It echoed Mackie’s costume for the Turn Back Time video from 1989.
Mackie is one of the most celebrated costume designers in the world and is particularly associated with diva-ish creations for Cher, for whom he designed for decades, Whitney Houston, and TV host Vanna White.
He also designed some of Elton John’s most eye-catching outfits.
The costume sold for $162,500 after attracting eight bids from a $10,000 start. It went into the sale with a $60,000 to $80,000 estimate.
Mackie’s name in the jacket, a guarantee of glitz and glamour. Image courtesy of Julien’s Auctions.
A dress worn by Marilyn Monroe at a press conference to promote her final film Mifits realised $78,000 against a $60,000 low estimate.
A pair of cowboy boots worn in the film – reckoned by many to be Monroe’s finest screen performance – returned the same figures.
A large collection of jewellery and clothes from Elizabeth Taylor also sold.
The most valuable Taylor piece was a Theo Fennell diamond and gold Star of David pendant that realised $37,750 to surpass its $30,000 top estimate.
Cher is a collectible figure. A singer and actor with a decades-long career – that’s still going strong – she has been in the public eye since the mid 1960s.
Marilyn Monroe is easily the most valuable Hollywood figure though. Her costumes regularly set records.
In 2016, the dress Monroe wore when she sang Happy Birthday to President John F Kennedy at a New York fundraising gala sold for $4.8 million.
Bob Mackie sketched the dress at one of his first jobs, working for designer Jean Louis, who made the stunning gown in 1962.
