Key Takeaways
- Julien’s Auctions will sell Michael Jackson’s red-and-black “Thriller” jacket and shoes alongside the rhinestone glove and loafers from his 1983 moonwalk debut.
- The four pieces will headline the Michael Jackson: The Fashion Legacy Auction, running Dec. 7–9 at Rosewood Abu Dhabi.
- Before the auction, the items will appear at Prince Jackson’s “This Is Thriller” event at Los Angeles’ Palace Theatre, where parts of the iconic video were filmed.
Four pieces of Michael Jackson history from arguably the most consequential year of his career are heading back to the auction block.
Julien’s Auctions announced on Wednesday, October 7, that Jackson’s red-and-black leather jacket and black shoes from the 1983 “Thriller” music video will be offered alongside the rhinestone-covered glove from his landmark Motown 25: Yesterday, Today, Forever performance and the loafers he wore during rehearsals for the show. According to People, the broadcast aired in May 1983, when Jackson publicly debuted the moonwalk during “Billie Jean,” creating one of the defining images of his career.
The four pieces will headline Michael Jackson: The Fashion Legacy Auction, part of Julien’s Celebrity & Pop Culture Experience running Dec. 7 through Dec. 9 at Rosewood Abu Dhabi. Julien’s previously handled sales of the “Motown 25” glove in 2009 and a “Thriller” jacket in 2011, both of which set records.
“The Thriller jacket is the one the world has never stopped talking about,” Julien’s co-founder and executive director Martin Nolan said in a statement, adding that the auction house was “thrilled to unveil it alongside the rhinestone-studded glove Michael Jackson wore when he debuted the moonwalk at Motown 25.”
“Each one carries a moment that changed pop culture forever,” Nolan added.
That history is concentrated within a remarkable stretch of 1983. Thriller had reached No. 1 on the Billboard 200 weeks before Jackson taped Motown 25. His performance of “Billie Jean” introduced a mass television audience to the moonwalk and further established the single white glove as part of his visual identity.
Months later, the John Landis-directed “Thriller” short film turned Jackson’s red leather jacket into another instantly recognizable piece of pop iconography.
Before the items travel to Abu Dhabi, they will return to a location connected to that history. They are scheduled to be displayed during Prince Jackson’s Heal Los Angeles Foundation’s annual “This Is Thriller” event at the Palace Theatre in downtown Los Angeles, where portions of the “Thriller” video were filmed.
Their return to market also comes during a new wave of interest in Jackson’s work. The Jaafar Jackson-led Michael biopic became a billion-dollar global hit this year, prompting Lionsgate to begin developing a sequel.
The resurgence has extended well beyond his biggest hits. “Chicago,” released posthumously on Xscape, reached new chart heights, while the Invincible deep cut “Heaven Can Wait” was recently ranked No. 20 on Essence’s list of the greatest R&B songs of all time.
