(Reuters) – Pop star Lady Gaga purchased 55 items belonging to late singer Michael Jackson in a weekend auction that raised more than $5 million, a portion of which will be donated to charity, Julien’s Auctions said.
The auction, held in Beverly Hills, showcased 465 lots of items spanning Jackson’s career through the years, including costumes and props used on tour and in music videos.
Highlights from the sale included the late singer’s “BAD” tour jacket raising $240,000, a white glove selling for $192,000 and one of the singer’s Pepsi and Awards jacket garnering more than $68,000, the auction house said in a statement.
Following Sunday’s auction, Gaga told her 31 million Twitter followers that “the 55 pieces I collected today will be archived & expertly cared for in the spirit & love of Michael Jackson, his bravery, & fans worldwide.”
Jackson died aged 50 in June 2009 in Los Angeles from an overdose of the anesthetic propofol and sedatives.
The collection of outfits, designed by Los Angeles-based collaborators Dennis Tompkins and Michael Bush and gifted back to them by the late singer, were taken on a world tour earlier this year, traveling across South America, Europe and Asia.
In September, British hat designer Philip Treacy designed his first London fashion week show in a decade around Jackson’s auction costumes, which were worn by the models down the runway and accessorized with hats inspired by the late singer’s life.
Gaga not only attended Treacy’s show but was on hand to introduce the milliner’s collection.
The auction exceeded pre-sale estimates of $1 million to $2 million, and a portion of the final amount raised will benefit the Guide Dogs of America and Nathan Adelson Hospice in Las Vegas.
(Reporting By Piya Sinha-Roy, editing by Jill Serjeant)
