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The cardigan that sold for 137,500 dollars

By Don-Alvin Adegeest

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Fashion

It wasn't just any cardigan that sold for 137,500 dollars. It was a dishevelled five-button acrylic, mohair and lycra mix, without a hint of wool, cashmere or luxe fibres, but worn as it was by former Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain it far exceeded its expectation of fetching 15,000 dollars when it went up for auction this week.

The relevance of this 'item' to the fashion industry is that both this cardigan and indeed Cobain's style epitomised the much-referenced grunge era in the 90s. Without Cobain there would have been no Marc Jacobs’ seminal grunge collection for Perry Ellis in 1992 nor indeed Hedi Slimane's direction at Saint Laurent.

Diffident and ungroomed, Cobain and his contemporaries dressed in workwear and thrift-store clothing, but his unique sense of style was of crucial importance. He was acutely aware of clothing's power to make statements. As a teenage punk in a small town in Washington State, he had been a fan of the Sex Pistols, who had been dressed by Dame Vivienne Westwood and managed by semiotician Malcolm McLaren.

Cobain's flannel shirts, torn jeans and sloppy cardigans may have looked shabby to the establishment, but to the alienated, marginalised and fashion industry its message was clear and uplifting. Today his style can still be seen on runways, referenced in countless editorials and on the streets.

image:Kurt Cobain

Kurt Cobain
Marc Jacobs
Saint Laurent