While many 6-year-olds ripped open holiday gifts containing board games or Silly Putty this season, North West had a different experience. The eldest West child received a velvet jacket that once belonged to the late — and controversial — Michael Jackson.
Parents Kim Kardashian and Kanye West won the jacket in the Icons & Idols: Rock ‘n’ Roll auction held by Julien’s Auctions in NYC in October. According to E News!, the power couple paid $65,625 for the hitmaker’s coat, even though it was expected to bring in somewhere between $10,000 and $20,000.
“North is a really big Michael Jackson fan and we knew she would love this,” Kim told her 155 million Instagram followers on Christmas Eve. “We won this on an auction for Northie for Christmas.”
The black jacket, designed by Dennis Tompkins and Michael Bush, features intricate details like a vine motif covered in stones and pearls and a metallic burgundy band on the upper right arm. There are two silver crown details on either side of the collar, right above where the zipper ends.
Jackson wore the jacket to Elizabeth Taylor’s 65th birthday party, held at the Pantages Theatre in L.A. on February 16, 1997. He wore it again just three months later to the 50th Cannes Film Festival for a screening of his movie, Ghosts.
Kardashian explained to Instagram followers that the jacket is ready for West to wear. “We had it tacked up so she can wear it and the sleeves are half tacked up so when she gets older we can untack this sleeve and it can grow with her and she can have this for her whole life.”
Jackson’s recognized as a music and fashion icon, but it’s no secret that he’s been accused of numerous accounts of sexual abuse. Under these circumstances, some fans say this makes it an interesting choice to gift to a child.
West is quietly turning into a fashionista just like mom. On Sunday, December 22, she wore kid-sized Skims loungewear to attend dad’s Sunday Service in NYC. She specifically donned three white pieces from the Cozy Collection: the Cozy Knit Tank, Cozy Knit Pants and Cozy Knit Rob.
But wait, there’s more! West carried a Hermès Birkin bag on her arm, worth at least $10,000. To accessorize, she wore a two-strand pearl choker an on-trend white boots to complete the look.
