John Travolta's white Saturday Night Fever suit is up for auction

John Travolta as Tony Manero in "Saturday Night Fever."
John Travolta was nominated for a Best Actor Oscar for his performance as Tony Manero in "Saturday Night Fever." Photo credit: Moviestore / Shutterstock

By Toyin Owoseje of CNN

Fans of Saturday Night Fever have the chance to grab a piece of pop culture history later this month when the white three-piece suit worn in the movie by John Travolta comes up for auction.

The monochromatic ensemble is expected to fetch up to US$200,000 (NZ$317,600) when it goes under the hammer as part of the Hollywood: Classic & Contemporary sale organised by Julien's Auctions and Turner Classic Movies (TCM) in California between April 22 and April 23. (TCM is owned by Warner Bros. Discovery).

In the 1977 dance drama, Travolta plays Tony Manero, a young Italian-American from Brooklyn who tries to escape the realities of his life by dominating the dance floor at the local disco. The hit movie helped to popularise disco music around the world and Travolta received a Best Actor Oscar nomination for his groovy performance.

According to auction organisers, the polyester suit worn by Travolta in the movie's famous dance competition scene is one of only two used during the production of the film. The jacket features exaggerated peak lapels with pick stitching and two oversized pockets.

The listing describes the suit as "one of the most iconic costumes in the history of cinema" and adds that it comes with letters of authenticity from Paramount Studios and Travolta himself.

"Heroes from Sir Lancelot to Tom Mix wore white in the great contests to express purity and single-minded devotion to the task at hand," the film's costume designer, Patrizia von Brandenstein, said of the quintessentially '70s ensemble in a statement.

"So, for me, white was the only choice for the suit. I am grateful that our hero, John Travolta, and our producers also came to see it in this way."

Other auction highlights will include Harrison Ford's machete from the 1984 movie Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, an Iron Man Mark XLVI helmet worn by Robert Downey Jr. in 2016's Captain America: Civil War and Michael J. Fox's hoverboard from 1989's Back to the Future 2.

CNN