The anonymous collector who bid $19,294 for a white lace corset Madonna wore for her 1984 album-cover shoot for “Like a Virgin” might want to take a second look.
According to Maripol, the French-born artist and designer who was then art director for hip Italian boutique Fiorucci: “It’s fake. I designed the corset she wore on the cover of ‘Like a Virgin.’ Just compare photos of the corsets side to side and you can see they are different.”
A spokeswoman for auction company GottaHaveRockAndRoll.com refuted Maripol’s claims and said two corsets were purchased at Macy’s for Madonna to use on the cover shoot. The carefully worded catalog never claimed that the corset on the block was the one that actually appears on the album cover.
“The one that was sold was used in the original photo shoot and used by Madonna onstage,” the rep added.
“It’s a lie,” Maripol fumed. “There was only one corset, and I sewed it myself. I’m upset someone paid so much for a fake.”
The auction, which ended Saturday with total sales of nearly $750,000, was deemed a success, although 22 other Madonna items — including a breakup letter from Tupac Shakur, a pair of worn satin panties and a hairbrush with Madonna’s hair entangled in it — were removed under court order.
“Madonna doesn’t want someone to have her DNA,” Maripol said.
Darlene Lutz, who was a consultant/aide to the pop star, will be back in Manhattan Supreme Court in September to argue that she is the rightful owner of the memorabilia.
The staff at GottaHaveRockAndRoll.com are looking forward to selling the disputed items at a future auction.