Hollywood memorabilia has a mass appeal and their auction always generates a lot of interest amongst collectors and fans. We have already seen the buzz created by the Marilyn Monroe costume and its subsequent auction.  Profiles in History is organizing an auction and has curated an interesting selection that boasts of Tom Cruise’s 1970 Porsche from Risky Business, Michael Keaton’s Batman cowl and Michelle Pfeiffer’s screen-worn Catwoman suit. The collection scheduled to go under hammer also includes many of the iconic costumes made famous by movies over time. The two costumes that are easily recognizable are Jennifer Lopez’s beautiful dress from the psychological thriller The Cell and Whitney Houston’s dress in her film The Bodyguard which was designed as homage to Metropolis.
The Cell Costume was Designed by Eiko Ishioka Shee
The Cell was shot to have a rich visual style. The director of the film Tarsem Singh had got the costumes made by the late Eiko Ishioka Shee had designed the costumes in such a way that they reflected at the same time both the film’s portrayal of reality and the mental dreamscape of the film’s villain. She had worked on many of his other films but she was best known for her work in Bram Stoker’s Dracula for which she received the award for Best Costume design. Jennifer Lopez plays a psychotherapist, Dr. Catherine Dean in the film and the dress that is to be auctioned was worn by her in one of the most surreal scenes of the film. It is a sheer black dress with metal-flake crimson, anatomical collar. The closure on the back is made of Velcro. A resin facemask with hopped, braided chain veil completes the costume. It is part of the collection from Hollywood vaults and has been estimated to fetch anywhere between $3,000 and $5,000.
Susan Nininger Designed the Queen of the Night Costume
The other important dress in the auction is from the film The Bodyguard starring Whitney Houston and Kevin Costner. Houston plays the role of a famous singer Rachel Marron who is followed by a stalker and who hires an agent to protect herself. The costume in question which is known as Queen of the Night costume was designed by Susan Nininger who has based the design on the machine-human character Maria from Fritz Lang’s classic film from 1927 Metropolis. The dress has an art deco design with a chromed thermal formed chest plate, a corset with chrome and aluminum accents, a metallic gray under suit with garter straps detailed with metal studs. The costume is completed with silver lamé crepe skirt. The costume is accessorized with an Egyptian-style collar, waist belt, over-the-knee boots, and opera gloves. The posters of the film also used the photographs from the scenes of Houston wearing the iconic costume. The costume became popular as the Queen of the Night as Houston is wearing it while she performed the hit song in the movie. She was at the peak of her career while doing this film and this costume has got associated with her closely. The costume to be auctioned comes with a letter of authenticity provided by Chris Gillman. This costume is estimated to fetch much more than other similar memorabilia. The official estimates put the value of the costume between $20,000 and $30,000.
