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LONDON: A jumper worn by Britain’s late Princess Diana and depicting a black sheep is headed for auction later this summer with a price estimate of $50,000 to $80,000
Designed by knitwear label Warm & Wonderful, the sweater, which will headline Sotheby’s Fashion Icons Aug. 31-Sept. 14 online sale, was rediscovered in an attic earlier this year by one of the brand’s founders.
Diana first wore the red jumper, which depicts a lone black sheep among rows of white sheep, to watch then Prince Charles play in a polo game in June 1981, a month before they were married, sparking speculation over its potential significance.
After it was damaged on the wrist, her private secretary Oliver Everett wrote to Warm & Wonderful co-founder Joanna Osborne asking if it could be repaired and the jumper was sent back. A few months later, Diana received a replacement, which she was photographed wearing in 1983.
Osborne found the original in a box in her attic in March.
The jumper, which is being sold with Everett’s two letters to Osborne, has a price estimate of $50,000-$80,000.
Earlier this year, Sotheby’s sold a purple, velvet, strapless evening gown worn by Diana, designed by couturier Victor Edelstein for his autumn 1989 collection, for just over $600,000, five times its pre-auction estimate.
