The story behind the look. Olivia Newton-John: why did this legendary outfit almost never see the light of day?

Many fashion pieces have gone down in history. This is the case of Olivia Newton-John’s iconic outfit in the musical Grease. On the frenzied rhythm of “You’re The One That I Want”, Olivia Newton-John appeared twirling, in an outfit that made an impression. The young woman who shared the poster with John Travolta made the famous transformation scene legendary thanks to a leather jacket, a top with bare shoulders, black lamé pants. A simple, but mythical outfit, because it is thanks to her that the shy Sandy was transformed into a femme fatale.

Olivia Newton-John: how did the star almost tear her outfit?

Albert Wolsky, the film’s costume designer, wanted to mark the heroine’s metamorphosis by unearthing a cult outfit showing her evolution. To do this, he chooses sharkskin leggings from the 1950s. Only problem: the room is so fragile that Olivia Newton-John has trouble moving in it: “When I first tried on these pants the zipper was broken and Albert didn’t want to tear it trying to put a new one on or take the old one off. Instead, he would sew the pants on me every morning.”

In November 2019, the rock’n’roll outfit of the actress was sold at auction for 363,286 euros. But, a few months later, the buyer had organized a nice surprise for actress Olivia Newton-John. With the complicity of the house which had organized the sale, the latter had wanted to offer the pieces to the actress, who died of cancer in August 2022. “This jacket belongs to you and the collective soul of those who love you, those for whom you are the soundtrack of their lives. She shouldn’t be sitting in a billionaire’s closet so he can brag about her in country clubs.”, he had announced to Olivia Newton-John who had not managed to hold back her tears. There’s no doubt this dress will forever be in the fashion pantheon.