Princess Diana’s iconic black sheep sweater.Photo:Alexi Rosenfeld/Getty Images; Tim Graham Photo Library via Getty Images
Alexi Rosenfeld/Getty Images; Tim Graham Photo Library via Getty Images
Princess Diana’s iconicblack sheep sweateris breaking records.
Sally Muir, co-founder of Warm and Wonderful, tells PEOPLE exclusively that she was with her designing partner Joanna Osborne when the news broke.
“I went to Jo’s for the last two hours of the auction, and we had bucks fizz and sat down with some friends of hers and watched it,” she says. “Nothing happened for hours, and then it all went berserk in the last 10 minutes. It was nail-biting because it had been stuck at the same level at around $180,000 all day, which we thought was brilliant, and then it just went mad. Everyone just screamed every time it went up!”
Muir added that she’s “absolutely dying to know” to know who bought the piece. “But it’s all confidential unless it goes to a museum and then we might find out. It’s kind of frustrating but also quite intriguing because of course we have been speculating!”
Princess Diana wearing her black sheep sweater in June 1981.Tim Graham Photo Library via Getty Images
Tim Graham Photo Library via Getty Images
Soon after Diana first wore the design, Muir and Osborne received a letter from Buckingham Palace saying that Diana had damaged the sweater and asked if it could be repaired or replaced. A new garment was sent and the original, damaged item was forgotten about until Osborne came across it in storage earlier this year.
The black sheep sweater.Alexi Rosenfeld/Getty Images
Alexi Rosenfeld/Getty Images
“I was in the attic in February searching for a pattern, and I just happen to notice this old wine box in a corner — and there was a red sheep jumper wrapped in a cotton bedspread. It was well preserved, and I had a kind of Groundhog Day moment and thought, ‘Could this be the one?’ I looked at the cuff which had obviously been sewn back on, and I called Sal and said, ‘I think I’ve found the actual real Diana jumper!’ ” Osborne exclusively told PEOPLE.
“We had just sort of forgotten about it,” added Muir.
Princess Diana wearing her second version of the sweater in 1983.Jayne Fincher/Princess Diana Archive/Getty Images
Jayne Fincher/Princess Diana Archive/Getty Images
Ahead of the auction, Houlton also exclusively told PEOPLE that the way in which the garment was re-discovered raised the stakes for the sale.
“They very randomly came across this sweater, it’s not like they were sitting on this sweater for some period of time and then decided who they should sell it to,” Houlton said of Muir and Osborne.
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Diana wore her second version of the sweater for another one of Charles’ polo matches in 1983, teaming the item with a white blouse with a black bow and white pants.
Last week,three of Diana’s gownswere also sold at auction for around $1.62 million.
source: people.com
