The UK’s charity shops are known for their impressive selection of vintage and pre-loved items, but not many can boast donations from pop royalty.
Last year, music icon Madonna took over Manchester’s AO Arena for a week of dress rehearsals ahead of her eagerly-anticipated Celebration tour.
Several items from these rehearsals have found their way to the Children’s Air Ambulance charity shop in Salford.
The collection includes skirts, jumpers, trousers, shirts and accessories, some designed by New York fashion designer Daang Goodman for her streetwear brand Tripp NYC.
While it’s unclear if Madonna herself wore any of the items, they were likely used during different stages of the Celebration tour or possibly worn by her dancers or team during rehearsals.
One shopper, Alex Fisher, was perusing a charity shop on Friday afternoon (November 8) when she stumbled upon a collection of clothes. These items were labelled by staff as ‘donated to us from the dress rehearsals at the AO Arena for Madonna’s Celebration tour ’23’.
Sharing her find on TikTok, PR manager Alex said: “Clothes from Madonna’s tour in a Manchester charity shop!, reports the Manchester Evening News. Apparently, she wore some of these.”
Alex revealed that she purchased a yellow and black plaid skirt and a feather boa for a total of just £11.
She expressed her astonishment over the ‘bizarre’ discovery and said: “It’s my local charity shop which I frequent and I just happened upon the rack and thought it was so cool.”
She added: “I am a big music fan and it felt strange to see clothes from Madonna’s tour in a Salford charity shop.
“A staff member informed me that they had more and even stranger items from the tour in the back which they hadn’t yet displayed, and there are videos of Madonna herself wearing some of the pieces.”
Discussing her purchases, she said: “I had to get a boa and the skirt. The skirt feels so expensive because of all the details with the safety pins, I’ve never seen anything like it in a charity shop! I’m going to style it with a chunky knitted jumper and boots. And I love an accessory so the boa was a no-brainer – it feels kinda like a piece of history! “.
Among the eclectic mix of items was a pair of fetish-style leather shorts, which one TikTok user suggested might be crafted by R and M Leathers and could fetch around £500, alongside several T-shirts tagged at a mere £7.50.
The Salford charity shop took to their Facebook page, playfully invoking Madonna’s iconic songs: “Are you a Material Girl or do you just like to Strike A Pose? We’ve got you covered. We have been donated some amazing pieces from the dress rehearsal of Madonna’s Celebration tour at the AO Arena.
“So tell your Papa Don’t Preach and come take a look at what we’ve got. Express yourself and Cherish your life-saving purchase. You’ll find us at the Children’s Air Ambulance charity store on Regent Road Retail Park, Regent Road, Salford, M5 3TP.”
Alex’s followers were buzzing with excitement over the collection. Comments poured in with one person exclaiming: “That plaid skirt is UNREAL.”
Another eager fan stated: “If you bought any of these I would literally buy them off you.”
Yet another chimed in, saying: “Omg I would have bought the beige Tripps,” while someone else questioned: “Omg. Did it say £7.50 or £750? ” And another couldn’t resist adding: “That stripe jumper would of gone home with me.”
Children’s Air Ambulance have been contacted for comment.
