
From Lady Gaga’s abandoned Valentino Couture gown to the world’s most expensive cardigan, it’s been a week of drama in the auction house
We’ve all been there: you return from a big night out, fling your party dress on the floor and swiftly forget it’s there until you peel it from the washing pile weeks later. But, what if said dress is a bespoke, one-of-a-kind Valentino couture gown, and that floor was in a hotel to which you never returned? And so brings us to the weird - and intriguing - story of how Lady Gaga’s Golden Globes gown is now for sale on an auction house site - apparently, to the surprise of the singer herself. It’s been a week of auction house fashion highs - here’s what you need to know.
First, the intriguing tale of Gaga's Golden Globes gown, which was put up for sale by housekeeper Sara Corea, after she apparently found it at the Beverly Hills Hilton Hotel. The periwinkle-blue Valentino gown was reportedly left behind in the actress's hotel room, after she wore it to collect the award for Best Original Song at this year's ceremony. Corea handed it in to lost property but, when left unclaimed, it was returned to its finder, who subsequently put it up for auction. Gaga has since said that the dress doesn't belong to her and, as is customary for such events, was on loan from the label.
The dress is set to be sold on Halloween by Nate D. Sanders auctioneers, with a starting price of $8,000 (£6,210). However, according to TMZ, it was reported as missing to the Beverly Hills Police last week, with the fashion house and hotel working hard to take it off the auction. The auction house is said to have countered that it "followed proper procedures" in obtaining the gown, which comes with a "Letter of Authenticity" from Corea, and that its sale will continue as planned. TBC...
Next up, Olivia Newton-John, who is auctioning off over 500 items from her career in aid of her cancer treatment centre. Among them, the skin-tight trousers and leather jacket immortalised by the actress for Sandy's makeover in Grease, which are estimated to reach $200,000. Further items from the 1978 cult film include the original script, the gown she wore to its LA premiere, and a custom Pink Ladies jacket. The 1950s high-waisted trousers were already vintage by the time Newton-John wore them to sing "You're The One That I Want" opposite John Travolta, and she had to be stitched in because of a broken zip.
A broken zip is unlikely to put off buyers, however, if Kurt Cobain's three-decades unwashed mohair cardigan - which reached a price tag of £260,000 in New York last week - is anything to go by. Now said to be the most expensive sweater ever sold at auction, the cardigan is complete with stains and cigarette burns and hasn't been washed since Cobain wore it (most famously for Nirvana's "Unplugged" performance on MTV in 1993).
So, in a nutshell: one week and three major fashion moments on the block.
Images | getty, shutterstock