Michael Jackson's dirty diamond-stitched sock sells for €6,200 at auction.
A sock worn by Michael Jackson during a concert in Nice, France, on July 27, 1997, was auctioned for €6,200 at a sale organized Wednesday by the Nîmes Auction House. The visibly worn item was found at the end of a concert "next to the artist's dressing room by a technician working there," Aurore Illy, the auctioneer for the auction house, told AFP.
" This is an exceptional object, even a cult object for Michael Jackson fans. We have received numerous expressions of interest," he emphasized. Embroidered with sparkling square crystals, the sock was framed and accompanied by the technician's "backstage access pass from the period," the auction website Interencheres reported.
Matching the iconic glove worn by the pop icon during his 'History World Tour,' the accessory is believed to have been used on the songs 'Beat It Live' and 'Billie Jean,' where Michael moonwalked, according to the same site.
First put up for sale in June, the item had failed to find a buyer at the time. Initially priced at €2,500, its estimated value was between €3,000 and €4,000. Decades later, the off-white garment is covered in stains, and the rhinestones adorning it have yellowed over time, according to an image posted on the website.
In 2009, a Macau gambling resort paid $350,000 for a sparkly glove Jackson wore when he performed his first moonwalk in 1983. A hat he wore just before that performance sold for more than $80,000 in Paris in 2023.
Jackson died of a fatal overdose in 2009 at age 50. He remains a cult following, despite allegations of child sexual abuse leveled against him during his lifetime and after his death, which both he and his estate have denied.
ABC.es