Carey Mulligan’s metallic Prada dress that she donned to the Met Ball will be auctioned on eBay for Oxfam and troubled British heritage label Aquascutum has been acquired by YGM Trading Limited.
The 26-year-old actress – who was accompanied the annual Costume Institute Gala in New York by her new husband Marcus Mumford – is auctioning the custom-made gold and silver Prada gown for charity, with proceeds going to Oxfam.
Bidding on the gown runs until May 19, with the current highest bid standing at $1,025.
The listing reads, ”You can bid on Mulligan’s custom Prada gold and silver degradé metal paillettes scaled halter neck dress. This dress has been photographed by most news outlets, from the Chicago Tribune to NY Magazine, Vogue and Style.com, and has generated significant media attention. A true piece of fashion history!
”Custom dress sized between 38-40.”
This is not the first time Carey has sold one of her dresses to raise money for Oxfam.
In May 2010, she donated the Vionnet dress she wore to that year’s BAFTA Awards to raise money for the charity’s women’s projects.
She said at the time, ”I’m honored to be able to donate my Bafta dress to support Oxfam’s work helping women living in extreme poverty across the world.”
In a deal which was struck earlier this month and has now been finalised, the Hong Kong-based corporation – which already controls the brand’s licenses in Asia – has bought the brand and assets including UK stores, concessions and the head office, preserving 100 jobs.
Joint administrator Geoff Rowley said, ”We are delighted to announce the sale of Aquascutum, safeguarding the jobs of over 100 employees and the presence of the iconic Aquascutum brand in the United Kingdom.
”We hope that under new ownership the Aquascutum brand and business will have the best opportunity of success and growth both in the UK and worldwide.”
Talks are continuing to secure a buyer for Aquascutum’s manufacturing plant in Northamptonshire with administrators revealing they hope to arrange a deal within the next two weeks.
The British label went into administration last month, and admitted the closure of the factory in the UK had to be done to halt continuing losses.
A spokesperson said, ”Whilst a difficult decision, it has been necessary in order to stem on-going losses for the business, and to protect the positions of the 135 remaining employees. We plan to provide appropriate assistance to all affected employees, including liaising with Jobcentre plus and helping with claims to the Redundancy Payments Service.
”All head office and retail operations across the UK and international high street, concession and outlet stores are operating as usual at present.”
