Michael Jackson's 'Thriller' jacket heads to auction – could fetch more than $10 million
Julien's Auctions will sell the red-and-black leather jacket from the 1983 video in Abu Dhabi in December – along with the rhinestone glove from his moonwalk debut.
Archive image · Photo: Epic Records / Wikimedia Commons, Public domain (cropped and resized)
Julien's Auctions is selling the red-and-black leather jacket Michael Jackson wore in the 1983 'Thriller' music video. The 'Michael Jackson: The Fashion Legacy' auction is set for early December at the Rosewood hotel in Abu Dhabi. Alongside the jacket, the sale includes the black shoes from the video, the rhinestone-covered glove from Jackson's 'Motown 25' TV performance, and loafers linked to that performance – where Jackson debuted the moonwalk in 1983.
According to Fashion Times, Julien's co-founder Martin Nolan believes the jacket could fetch more than $10 million; the house has not published an official estimate. 'The Thriller jacket is the one the world has never stopped talking about,' Nolan said. Julien's previously sold a 'Thriller' jacket for $1.8 million in 2011 and the 'Motown 25' glove in 2009 – both sales set records at the time.
Before the auction, the items will be displayed at the 'This Is Thriller' event of the Heal Los Angeles Foundation, run by Jackson's son Prince, at the Palace Theatre in Los Angeles.