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MICHAEL JACKSON 

Aviator-style sunglasses, Victory Tour era, 1984

The item was sold for 3 791

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Aviator-style sunglasses, Victory Tour era, 1984

An item associated with the 1984 Victory Tour, a period during which stage props played a significant role in shaping Michael Jackson’s public image. The aviator-style sunglasses form part of a simple and instantly recognisable visual language, frequently used both on stage and behind the scenes, although the available documentation does not allow us to specify their exact purpose

In Michael Jackson’s iconography, this type of sunglasses is less a spectacular prop than a sign of identification. It forms part of a stage persona where the partially masked face reinforces distance and theatricality, but it does not, on its own, allow for a firm conclusion regarding a specific performance.

The provenance is based on a handwritten letter dated February 2012, from “Lara” addressed to “John”, stating that these glasses were, according to the writer’s recollection, official stage glasses used in Knoxville, Tennessee, on 8 August 1984, during a series of three concerts on the Victory Tour. The same letter states that the item was given to her by a friend who had worked temporarily in security during those concerts, and that he gave them to her at the end of the show.  

A pair of aviator-style sunglasses with a wide, continuous lens, characteristic of the ‘shield’ models popular in the 1980s. The silver-finished metal frame features a minimalist design with a reinforced upper bridge and slim temples fitted with acetate tips. Inscription on the left temple: “MJ-42-07”.

 

– Handwritten letter, February 2012, linking the glasses to a stage performance in Knoxville, Tennessee, on 8 November 1984, according to the wording of the
document– Sale: The Memorabilia Vault, lot 66,
2015– Richard Fossaas Collection, Norway–
Private collection, New York