Cobain's Iconic Sweater, Never Washed, Is Up for Auction

Nirvana frontman wore the cardigan during MTV Unplugged performance
By Evann Gastaldo,  Newser Staff
Posted Oct 9, 2019 2:26 PM CDT

The iconic cardigan Kurt Cobain wore during Nirvana's MTV Unplugged performance is going up for auction again. The green sweater already sold for $137,500 through Julien’s Auctions in 2015, and is going back on the auction block Oct. 25—when it's expected to fetch up to $300,000, Rolling Stone reports. "The Manhattan brand sweater is a blend of acrylic, mohair and Lycra with five-button closure (one button absent) with two exterior pockets, a burn hole and discoloration near left pocket and discoloration on right pocket," reads the auction description.

"It’s very important that we don’t wash it," Darren Julien of the auction house explains. "The stains are still there. There’s even cigarettes burns that you can see on the sweater." The anonymous businessman who bought it in 2015 kept it in a safe, wrapped in acid-free tissue. Julien explains that the current owner purchased the sweater as an investment: "Now, because we’ve been getting record prices for Kurt Cobain, people are starting to sell it. We anticipate that it will sell for more than double. I call it the new fine art market. People are investing more and more in pop culture, especially rock & roll." (The sweater Cobain wore during his final photo shoot sold for $75,000.)

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