Apr 10, 2025 - Sale 2699
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Sale 2699 - Lot 246

Price Realized: $ 75,000
?Final Price Realized includes Buyer’s Premium added to Hammer Price
Estimate: $ 60,000 - $ 90,000

[DAVID BOWIE] KANSAI YAMAMOTO (1944-2020)

Ziggy Stardust "Keyhole" costume.
Polyester jumpsuit with satin keyhole and appliqué eyeball design. Clear seed beads affixed to eyelashes. Keyhole appliqué ladder stitched to jumpsuit torso at sides. Metal zipper closures at center back and both inner legs. Approximately 26 inch (66 cm) waist; 34 inch (86 cm) hips; 30 inch (76 cm) inseam. 1973.

Worn by David Bowie in the last ever appearance of his Ziggy Stardust persona, the NBC-broadcast "Midnight Special" filmed at the Marquee Club in London, England. The performance was shot across three evenings in October 1973, and featured the collaborative costuming efforts of Bowie, Freddie Burretti, who was "the ultimate co-shaper of the Ziggy look," and famed designer Kansai Yamamoto, alongside performances with such stars as Marianne Faithfull, the Astronettes, The Troggs and Amanda Lear.

Anachronistically titled "The 1980 Floor Show," a play on Orwell's 1984, the performance was a grand farewell to the alien avatar of Bowie's 1972 record, The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars. Ziggy Stardust was Bowie's bestselling record, surpassing 8.5 million copies sold worldwide.

During the concert the "Keyhole" costume was revealed in a medley performance of "1984" and "Dodo." In the performance, Bowie takes the stage in a Yamamoto-designed red, blue, and black lamé jumpsuit with wide, structured legs. As Bowie's backing band, the Spiders from Mars begin to play an anticipatory breakdown, Bowie drops his tambourine, steps away from the microphone, and puts his arms out to his sides. One Astronette stands on either side of him and they rip off the jumpsuit to reveal the "keyhole" suit.

In addition to the "Keyhole" costume, only three other stage-worn David Bowie costumes have gone up for auction: another jumpsuit from the 1973 "1980 Floor Show" performance (Christie's, 2007), a gold leather ensemble from the 1987 Glass Spider tour (Sotheby's, 2016), and a utilitarian jumpsuit, also from the Glass Spider tour (Julien's, 2016).

Provenance: from the collection of Joey Arias.
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