I’ve always wondered if Madonna held onto at least some of her iconic clothes and accessories. My question was answered on Monday, when she wore a Versace slip dress from 1995 to Donatella Versace’s afterparty for the Costume Institute Gala at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Queen of pop AND queen of slow fashion!
Maybe this means she still has her pieces by the artist Keith Haring. Those are the ones I’ve always coveted. I was thinking about those again last week, when Madonna did an Instagram post in honor of Haring’s birthday. He was a dear friend of hers who died of AIDS in 1990.
By the time Haring died, Madonna had been raising money for AIDS research for at least three years. I still have a program for a benefit concert she did in 1987.
Click for my original post.
She was driven in part by the illness and death of her best friend, Martin Burgoyne, who was only 23 when he died in 1986. Don’t underestimate the cultural impact of Madonna’s devotion to the cause. Back then, people feared you could somehow catch AIDS by standing close to someone who had it, despite a total lack of evidence. In fact, the year of Madonna’s benefit show, Princess Diana caused controversy by declining to wear gloves to shake hands with doctors, nurses, patients at an AIDS clinic.
Considering the value of Haring’s art and the personal significance his clothing designs must have for Madonna, I swear I will not try to sneak away with anything if she ever invites me over to try a few of her old things on. If I discover she has a stash of Maripolitan rubber bangles, however, all bets are off. I really, really miss mine.