Kurt Cobain’s ‘MTV Unplugged’ cardigan sells for record-breaking £260,000

It is now the most expensive cardigan ever sold at auction

The green cardigan Kurt Cobain wore during Nirvana‘s iconic MTV Unplugged performance has sold at auction for $334,000 (£260,000).

Aside from the sale amount exceeding expectations – it was estimated to sell at somewhere between $200,000 and $300,000 – it is also now the most expensive cardigan ever sold at auction, according to Julien’s Auctions, who held the event.

The cardigan, which has reportedly never been washed, last sold at auction in November 2015 for $140,800.

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In a new interview, Garrett Kletjian – who bought the cardigan in 2015 and previously remained anonymous – revealed that he felt too much pressure from owning the piece of rock ‘n’ roll memorabilia.

“I opened it up and it immediately hits me: ‘Oh, now I’m also going to be responsible for this’,” he told the outlet. “It was kind of like when my children were born years ago; I was so happy to see them, but then I was like, ‘Oh no…’ ”

Nirvana’s acoustic performance for MTV Unplugged was recorded live in November 1993, five months before Cobain’s death at the age of 27. Footage of the performance and the posthumously released live album, ‘MTV Unplugged in New York’, quickly entered into Nirvana folklore following the frontman’s 1994 passing.

Cobain’s cardigan wasn’t the only item of his up for auction. His custom, left-handed Fender Mustang guitar, used during Nirvana’s ‘In Utero’ tour in 1993, sold for $340,000 (£265,000).

Elsewhere in the auction, Elvis Presley‘s 1976 Harley Davidson XLH Sportster 1000 motorcycle sold for $106,250 (£83,000). His 1974 Mercedes-Benz 450 SL Gold Coupe sold for $125,000 (£97,500), according to the auction house.

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Michael Jackson‘s custom velvet jacket that he wore to Elizabeth Taylor’s 65th birthday party and at the premiere of his Ghosts movie sold for $65,625 (£51,000), which was considerably higher than the $10,000 and $20,000 it was estimated to fetch.

Meanwhile, a new clothing line has been launched by Kurt Cobain‘s estate in tribute to the late star.

The “Kurt Was Here” collection of T-shirts, sweatshirts and hoodies, which Cobain’s daughter Frances reportedly helped curate, feature prints of the Nirvana frontman’s sketches and hand-written notes.

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