If it seems like only yesterday that Madonna was traipsing around wearing a D-size conical cup corset in front of thousands... well, now is your chance to join her - for a good cause.
Bringing back a legendary look, the "Madonna x JPG Blond Ambition Tee" is a joint effort spotlighting the charity Raising Malawi, founded by Madonna in 2006 to help children and their families with medical needs and access to quality education in sub-Saharan Africa.
The T-shirt comes at a hefty price — $150 — and is sized for Large and X-Large, considering the length of the graphic image. It's an all-proceeds donation, if you are so inclined to purchase one.
Madonna and corset during her Blond Ambition tour, London, 1990.
If the image is truly an icon, its elevated status was helped along by the singer's concerts in 1990. Dubbed The Blond Ambition tour, it was in essence to support her fourth studio album Like A Prayer (1989) and the soundtrack to the film Dick Tracy, "I'm Breathless" (which had her as 'Breathless' Mahoney).
For the wardrobe and costumes, Madonna contacted Gaultier, a French designer who was already known for his unconventional haute couture clothing. During meetings in New York City and Paris, he came up with several ideas for the corset and its brazen cone shapes, explaining to the New York Times in 2001 that he had attended an exhibit with his grandmother where corsets were on display: "I loved the flesh color, the salmon satin, the lace. The gold conical bra was just an extension of that idea."
Madonna - Express Yourself [Blonde Ambition Tour]
Other costumes were constructed, including a pin-striped suit, a green and white striped vaudeville-style corset, a black mini-dress trimmed and stitched with a stuffed West African stork called the marabou, a black clergyman's robe with a neon crucifix and a cage vest. However, it was the gold corset that became the visual go-to for Madonna during that era and is now the most recognizable and controversial piece of clothing she's worn onstage.
Gaultier returned to costume design for Madonna's 2006 Confessions tour and her 2012 MDNA tour, the latter showing the singer in an updated, black wire-spaced version of the corset. The corset took on a life of its own, metaphorically speaking, as artists like Katy Perry and Lady Gaga took the bustier to extravagant lengths: Perry in a silver lame outfit, with cones simulating Hershey Kisses, and Gaga with cones that literally sparked out fireworks.
Madonna is currently on the North American leg of her Celebration Tour which is scheduled to conclude in April. You can purchase the 'Madonna x JPG Blond Ambition Tee' from her website here.
