BOSTON — A white ruffled shirt worn by Prince when he performed his song “Purple Rain” during the 1985 American Music Awards is up for auction.
The extravagant shirt is one of 203 items owned by the late pop star and are part of RR Auction’s “The Fashion of Prince Auction,” which ends Thursday, according to the Boston-based auction house.
According to RR Auction, the shirt was worn by Prince during the 12th Annual American Music Awards on Jan. 28, 1985, at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles.
It was similar to the shirt that the singer wore during his Purple Rain Tour, a 98-show circuit that began on Nov. 4, 1984, and ended on April 7, 1985.
The #Fashion of #Prince is in its final week!
— RR Auction (@RRAuction) November 13, 2023
Party like it's 1999 before this auction ends on November 16🪩https://t.co/k80qJZVWOj pic.twitter.com/qAvQD47n4H
Bobby Livingston, executive vice president at RR Auction, told The Associated Press that the auction traces Prince’s career from his breakout songs during the 1980s until his death in 2016.
“What this auction really does is it shows the influence and legacy of Prince with his fashion choices and how it relates today, when you see all these artists on tour, you know, different costumes, different outfits, reinventing themselves for each tour,” Livingston told the news organization.
According to the auction listing, the consignor said that the shirt was “acquired directly from a designer who worked with Louis and Vaughn & Marie-France on Prince’s outfits for the Purple Rain movie and its subsequent tour.”
Other auction items include the two-piece outfit that Prince wore for the 1986 film “Under the Cherry Moon,” which was also his directorial debut. There is also a Schecter “Cloud” guitar tested by the singer; white stage-worn high-heeled boots; and a stage-worn chain hat worn by Prince during his 1993 Act II tour in Europe.
The auction began on Oct. 25.
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