Michael Jackson's Clothes Command Big Bucks at Auction House: Red Leather "Thriller" Jacket and "Beat It" Tee Sell for Fortune at Auction in Beverly Hills

Michael Jackson's cotton  "Beat It" Tee shirt.  It sold for 45,000 dollars at the  Julien  Auction  House.  The   bid  started at
7000 dollars for the shirt.  Picture from Juliens Auction House

A 1980s designer sleeveless turquoise shirt with an image of cherubs surrounding a heart, with text reading text "n'y a plus que l'amour / sauf amour." The shirt features quite prominently in Jackson's video for his third single from the Thriller album, "Beat It." Jackson was photographed frequently wearing the same shirt and red zipper jacket combination featured in the video at many public events during this era. The shirt was given to Bradley Bennett whom Jackson had befriended. Bennett and Jackson met while attending services at the same Jehovah's Witness church. At the time of their meeting, in 1983, Bennett was eleven years old. He and Jackson became friends and Bennett visited Jackson at his home on more than one occasion. Jackson gifted this shirt to Bennett after the release of the video telling him that he wore it in the video. Although Jackson likely owned a few copies of this t-shirt as he wore it throughout the production of the 'Beat It' video, Jackson told Bennett that this was "the" shirt he wore during the video shoot. Included is a letter handwritten by Bradley Bennett outlining how he met and received this shirt from Jackson. (This description came from the Juliens auction website).

Michael Jackson's "Thriller" red leather jacket auction started at 100,000 and is currently at 200,000 dollars. So  far there have been 5 bids on it. Picture, Juliens Auctions


A black and red calf leather jacket with "Marc Laurent Paris" label featuring silver buckles at cuff, red silk lining, trapunto stitched collar, snap front closure and signature winged shoulders. The jacket is inscribed on the inside lining in black marker, "To Bush and Dennis All My Love Michael Jackson." The sleeve is additionally signed in black marker "Love Michael Jackson."

Among the most recognizable and famous garments of the 20th century, Michael Jackson's Thriller jacket sparked a 1980s fashion craze. The jacket was widely copied and sold to adoring fans worldwide. The black and red style of the jacket became so identifiable with Jackson's groundbreaking extended short film/ video for the single "Thriller" that he continued to use jackets of the same design when performing the song "Thriller" for the duration of his career. This jacket is one of two, designed by Deborah Nadoolman Landis, that Jackson owned and wore during the filming of the epic video for the single "Thriller." The other jacket is on display at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, Ohio, on loan from the Estate of Michael Jackson.

This jacket was given by Michael Jackson to his longtime costume designers Dennis Tompkins and Michael Bush, or just "Bush" as Michael called him. Jackson brought this jacket to Tompkins and Bush to be used as a reference for all of the subsequent concert versions of the "Thriller" jacket they would in turn make during their decades of working exclusively for Jackson. When he first brought it to them, they reportedly asked if he could really dance freely in the jacket, to which Jackson incredulously replied, "Have you seen the video for 'Thriller'?" Clearly, Jackson performed some of the most iconic choreography of our time in that video, without difficulty, while wearing the jacket. At a later date, Jackson officially gifted the jacket to the designers, at which time he added the inscriptions to the left sleeve and interior lining.

A portion of the proceeds from the sale of this item will benefit The Shambala Preserve. It is at The Shambala Preserve that Jackson’s two Bengal tigers, Thriller and Sabu, have been living since 2006 when Jackson left Neverland Ranch. Shambala translates to “a meeting place of peace and harmony for all beings, animal and human.”