Own a little piece of Madonna

Dubai: We expect her to be controversial. We expect her to wow us during her back-to-back concerts. We expect her to do the unexpected, even. What we did not expect, however, was the possibility of buying a little bit of Madonna to take home.

The Simply Madonna: Materials of the Girl exhibition and auction at BurJuman Centre will give fans, fanatics, curators and collectors an equal chance to carry home some Madge memorabilia never available in Dubai.

But as Madonna will testify on Yas Island on June 3 and 4, we do live in a material world. So owning a bit of Madge will only be possible for the moneyed.

Topping the list of over 60 items on sale for a total of over Dh9 million is the pink gown Madonna wore in the Material Girl video in 1985. The gown will be available for sale in Dubai for over Dh1.9 million, a far cry from its original worth.

Also high on the list of most-expensive memorabilia is the raunchy black satin tasselled bustier that Madonna wore in the Open Your Heart video in 1986, which will go on sale for over Dh1 million as well as the entire ensemble the singer wore in her 2000 video, Music. The sale tag of Dh719,000 includes a Tracy Watts straw and beads hat, a Donatella Versace fur coat, top and silk pants, and Jimmy Choo leather and silk shoes.

The exhibition and sale also features more off-beat items such as her Versace compact case (Dh22,690); a signed personal American Express card (Dh220,000); her custom-designed gold and emerald cross (Dh139,640); a hand-written diary from 1988-89 (Dh276,000); and a signed cancellation of her post-marital agreement with Sean Penn (Dh50,175).

The Simply Madonna exhibition will take place at BurJuman from May 24 to June 6 from 10am to 10pm. Those interested in purchasing one of the iconic pieces can do so between May 27 and 31, from 9am to 4pm daily.