Material girl's materials on show in Dubai

Merely two million dirhams and a love for Madonna are all that you need to purchase what can only be described as part of pop history.

Going on display and up for sale are more than 60 items owned by the Queen of Pop including outfits, personal documents and accessories, coinciding with Madonna's concerts in Abu Dhabi on June 3 and 4. The exhibition starts Thursday and runs until June 6.

To celebrate the star's 25-year career, the free exhibition has been organised by BurJuman Mall with the pieces provided by Marquee Capital, a memorabilia investment firm, to sell some of her belongings.

The items up for sale have all been used by Madonna in her daily life, for music videos as well as concerts, according organisers. The exhibition features descriptions and information about each item.

Items that will be immediately recognised by fans include the Versace leather belt, top, fur coat and silk pants that the pop star wore in the video for her hit song Music. They are alongside her country-style American Pie music video outfit.

Personal items

One of her most iconic looks, the Material Girl dress modelled after Marilyn Monroe is the most expensive item on offer at £334,750 (Dh1.9 million). Costumes from her film about Eva Peron, Evita, and some personal items such as her handwritten diary and her signed American Express card will all be on display in Dubai's BurJuman mall.

"Because Madonna is starting her world tour this year, and from Abu Dhabi, we decided to have this exhibition," says Burçhan Nathur, the event's creative director. "We are also working on projects in Turkey and Morocco and discussions with malls in the United States as well."

Proceeds from the sale go to the investment fund.

Some of the highest priced items on sale are the 1986 Open Your Heart black satin bustier at £180,250 (Dh1.04 million), and the outfit from the Music video at £123,600.

"We contacted one of the collectors collecting her personal belongings and we developed this project for shopping malls with Mr Chetan Trivedi [CEO of Marquee Capital]," said Nathur.

"Some of the products we got from Madonna directly and we have documentation for it," he said.

In a separate interview, Trivedi would not confirm the sources of the items or whether any were supplied by Madonna herself. "The sources are confidential, although we receive these items from multiple sources like auction houses and production houses. I cannot confirm or deny if any of these items came directly from Madonna."

Prices will be displayed next to each item. Purchases will be made on a first come first buy basis, said Nathur.

Items go on sale from Sunday until May 31 from 9am to 4pm daily. "Prices depend on the value of the items," said Nathur. "Visitors can come in on these days at these hours and they have to fill a form and make the payment. They will get the items at the end of the exhibition."

Prices start at £1,100 (Dh6,372) for some of her personal documents, including In Bed With Madonna, a set of black and white movie still photographs, and a rare original US Orion Pictures set of cinema lobby cards for her film Desperately Seeking Susan.

"The Material Girl dress and some documents and some of the awards, I think, will be the most popular," said Nathur.

According to Nathur, the items are all insured and have been shipped specially to Dubai. They are usually kept in a bank vault.

"There will be security guards around the exhibition all day and it's going to be viewed through security cameras — they are locked in a special display unit," he adds when asked about the safety and security procedures taken. "I think everybody is going to enjoy the exhibition, and we are very excited to have it in BurJuman in Dubai. I think it's a once in a lifetime opportunity to view these items."

Tickets

Don't forget, it's only Dh495 to see her in person — tickets are still on sale for her June 4 gig at Yas Island's du Arena.