More than 500 items belonging to beloved actress and singer Olivia Newton-John were auctioned off on November 2, 2019. While the auction was packed with memorabilia from Newton-John’s lengthy career, it was her outfit from the closing number in “Grease” that is getting all of the attention.
The iconic ensemble that was comprised of skin-tight leather pants and a leather jacket that the star wore in the 1978 cult classic fetched $405,000, nearly double what the outfit was expected to auction for. An unnamed bidder paid $243,200 for the jacket and $162,500 for the pants made famous by Newton-John in the “Grease” finale number of “You’re the One That I Want.”
In the scene, “Sandy (Newton-John) surprises Danny (John Travolta) with her transformation as a demure cheerleader to a sexy greaser girl. The black leather jacket and pair of figure hugging black shiny high waisted pants that were so tight that Newton-John had to be sewn into them.
The Grammy Award-winning singer, now 71, auctioned the items to raise funds for her breast cancer charity, Olivia Newton-John Cancer Wellness & Research Centre in Australia. Newton-John is currently in her third battle with the disease.
In addition to the leather outfit, also up for bids was Newton-John’s custom Pink Ladies jacket from “Grease,” embroidered with “Sandy,” a signed “Grease” script, and her white cowboy boots from the 1980 flick “Xanadu.”
“I’ve realized over the years, especially when you go through stuff, that stuff isn’t what’s important,” she told Reuters of her decision to sell the memorabilia.
Watch Olivia Newton-John don her iconic leather ensemble in 1978 as she performs “You’re the One That I Want” with John Travolta in “Grease” below.