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Rakewell

Sell me more, sell me more… Olivia Newton-John memorabilia heads to auction

5 July 2019

Introducing Rakewell, Apollo’s wandering eye on the art world. Look out for regular posts taking a rakish perspective on art and museum stories

Shoo-bop sha wadda wadda yippity boom de boom! A vast trove of Olivia Newton-John memorabilia is to hit the auctioneer’s block at Julien’s Auctions, Beverley Hills, in November. The sale will bring together some 200 costumes, personal items and other ephemera owned by the Australian singer, including the spandex cat suit she wore to the Oscars in 1978 and a pair of Missoni ‘harem pants’ that made a turn in the ludicrous 1980 sci-fi musical Xanadu.

Most eye-catching, however, are the lots that relate to Grease, the 1978 blockbuster that made Newton-John a household name. Collectors will be able to bid on items including a ‘Pink Ladies’ jacket presented to the singer by the movie’s cast and crew, her personal copy of the script, and the black leather jacket and ‘skin tight pants’ that she wore, as Sandy, after her makeover in the film’s final scenes. The one that you want? That costume is expected to fetch up to $200,000!

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