Whitney Houston souvenirs bring $525,000 at auction

A pair of basketball shoes given by Michael Jordan to Whitney Houston sold at auction for $20,000 on Friday, part of a sale of more than 100 pieces from Houston’s estate that drew more than half a million dollars from buyers around the world.The collection of trophies, personal effects and stage costumes from couture designers including Dolce & Gabbana and Marc Bouwen is the first sale of Houston’s belongings since her death in 2012 at age 48.Houston drowned in a bathtub at the Beverly Hilton hotel, just a few blocks from Heritage Auctions, the Beverly Hills auction house where Friday’s sale was held.“The time is right to share the memorabilia Whitney valued with the people who loved her and her music,” Houston’s sister-in-law and the executor of her estate, Pat Houston, said in a statement read by auctioneer Fiona Elias before the sale began.The sale drew from across the stages of Houston’s life and career.A 1985 passport from her first international tours showing her as a fresh-faced 21-year-old drew $11,250 while her Marc Bouwen ivory satin wedding dress from her 1992 wedding to singer Bobby Brown, complete with a sequined cloche hat and white silk veil, sold for $15,000.The dozen music awards trophies offered for sale proved to be some of the auction’s most hotly contested offerings.Houston’s 1985-86 MTV Video Music Award trophy for best female video for How Will I Know commanded $16,250, while her 1999 German Bambi award sold for $15,000.“The auction proves generations of fans are still in love with Whitney Houston’s legacy and contribution to music,” said Heritage Auctions President Greg Rohan.Houston was the most highly awarded female recording artist of all time, with seven Grammy Awards, 22 American Music Awards and 33 Billboard Music Awards in her trophy case.One of her two Emmy Awards, for a 1986 performance of Saving All My Love For You at the televised Grammy Awards, was originally included in Friday’s auction catalog with a minimum bid of $10,000.The item was withdrawn after the Television Academy sued the Whitney Houston Estate, saying its trophies are lent, not given, and cannot be sold.Bidding in the sale took place almost entirely in absentia, with buyers by phone and online from around the world far outnumbering those who showed up in person.Collector James Comisar bought several pieces, including Houston’s 1987 Grammy nomination certificate for the album Whitney and a Marc Bouwen rhinestone-spangled catsuit she wore on her 1991 I’m Your Baby Tonight tour.He said the “strong” sale prices showed Houston’s enduring star power.“When you’re talking about something like Whitney Houston, the sky’s the limit,” he said. “And in death, she’s even a bigger icon.”He added that the circumstance of Houston’s death might make her belongings a good investment, too.“When you have someone like Elvis or Marilyn, that dies tragically or mysteriously, that does tend to trend up the price over time,” he said.The auction commanded a total of $525,390, 78.5% above estimate, the auction house said.The sale benefited the Whitney Houston Estate, with a percentage going to Pat Houston’s charitable Marion P Foundation.