Sotheby’s reports that it is both the most expensive sweater ever sold at auction and the highest price ever paid at auction for a piece of Princess Diana’s clothing, surpassing the $604,800 price tag placed on her Infanta-style ball gown in January.
Following a frantic round of final bidding, an iconic red sweater worn by Princess Diana soon after her engagement to then-Prince Charles sold at auction for $1.1 million, Sotheby’s reported on Thursday. The sweater featured rows of fluffy miniature sheep.
The 19-year-old wore the knitted outfit, which features one black sheep among many other white woolly creatures, at a polo match in June 1981, back in her hectic days as a shy future princess.
Diana’s whimsically patterned “Black Sheep” sweater became one of her most recognizable pieces of clothing, and in retrospect, it seems to predict her rocky tenure as a member of the British royal family.
After a heated online bidding war, the garment was purchased for $1.1 million, fees and commission included.
The total exceeded Sotheby’s initial estimate of between $50,000 and $80,000 by more than ten times.
A barrage of offers forced the auction house to extend the sale by several minutes, and in the final 15 minutes, the price skyrocketed from $190,000 to $1.1 million.
Sotheby’s reports that it is both the most expensive sweater ever sold at auction and the highest price ever paid at auction for a piece of Princess Diana’s clothing, surpassing the $604,800 price tag placed on her Infanta-style ball gown in January.
The sweater was made by the knitting firm Warm and Wonderful, which later gained recognition, and its then-unknown designers Sally Muir and Joanna Osborne.
A note informing the designers that one of the sweater’s sleeves had been harmed and requesting if it might be fixed or replaced was received a few weeks after Diana was pictured wearing the garment.
The designers offered her a replacement since they believed the original had been fixed and delivered to a client, but Osborne discovered the sweater in her attic in March 2023.
Along with the sweater, Oliver Everett, Diana’s personal secretary, also placed a thank-you card in the auction along with the letter asking for repair.
Diana was spotted sporting the replacement during a polo play in June 1983.
Approximately 40 years later, in 2020, “Black Sheep” was once again made available for purchase through a partnership between the original creators, Muir and Osborne, and the clothing line Rowing Blazers.
The fourth season of the Netflix program The Crown, which details the recent history of the House of Windsor, featured the legendary sweater (in the form of a replica).
