Simply Madonna
1996 “Eva Peron” Pink and White Zig-Zag Rehearsal Dress from Evita

About Us

Marquee Capital

SimplyMadonna is being organised by Marquee Capital Limited, owners of the world’s largest private collection of Madonna’s film and stage costumes and artefacts. Marquee Capital has established the world’s first investment vehicle specialising in celebrity memorabilia, with a strong focus in Madonna. Below is a representative sample of costumes and artefacts we own related to Madonna:

  • Pink dress worn in the 1985 pop video for “Material Girl”
  • Black with gold tassel bustier worn in the 1986 video for “Open Your Heart”
  • Baseball costume worn in the 1992 movie “League of their Own”
  • Inaugural gown worn in the 1996 movie “Evita”
  • Wedding dress worn in the 1996 movie “Evita”
  • 2 x MTV awards given to Madonna personally for “Ray of Light”
  • The complete outfit worn in the 1999 music video for “American Pie”
  • The complete outfit worn in the 2000 music video for “Music”

Please click here to review a more extensive gallery on Madonna
For further details on Marquee Capital, please visit www.marqueecapital.com.

Ted Owen

The exhibition will be curated by Ted Owen, one of the world’s most distinguished experts on celebrity memorabilia. Ted Owen has been involved with the development of the rock, pop and film collectable market for over thirty years. He is a regular contributor to news, television and media, advising on collectable trends. He is considered to be one of the world's leading experts in the collecting field having broken several world price records, including selling John Lennon's "Imagine" piano for  £1.5 million in 2002, the lyric for "All you need is Love" for £750,000.

Ted spent three years as Phillips Auctioneers entertainment expert and then went on to form Bonham's entertainment department in 1991. In 2000, he formed his own memorabilia auction company with Mick Fleetwood of Fleetwood Mac fame. Ted has staged auctions in Las Vegas, New York, Los Angeles Tokyo and Berlin. Ted also has extensive exhibition experience, mounting the "Fingerprints of Elvis exhibition in Liverpool, the Monroe exhibition in London culminating in a three month exhibition in Leicester Square dedicated to the life of Jimi Hendrix. Ted is also an avid collector of music posters and in 1997 published the "High Art" the history of the poster as an art form  a book now highly collectable in its own right.

James Harknett

Madonna expert James Harknett will complement the exhibition by including items from his vast collection of Madonna memorabilia, including costumes and props from Evita, worldwide promotional material, magazines, store displays and posters. James’ passion for Madonna began at a young age in 1984, when he first saw her perform Holiday on Top of The Pops. From that point onwards he started a collection that has been recognised as one of the biggest in the world.
 
Amongst his most prized possessions are: 

  • A wig worn by Madonna during rehearsals for 1993's Girlie Show World Tour
  • The 'Kabbalists Do It Better' t-shirt worn by Madonna whilst performing Papa Don't Preach on the 2004 Re-Invention World Tour
  • 2 huge pictures on canvas taken for the promotion of Confessions On A Dance floor. These canvases were licensed by Madonna to be used as part of an exhibition in L.A at the start of her 2006 Confessions World Tour
  • Various invitations including 1991's Truth or Dare movie premiere, the Sex book party launch and the Girlie Show after-show party held in London
  • Various promotional materials used for her exclusive Japanese ad campaigns
  • Framed prints and magazine covers that chart her career from the start to present day
  • Hundreds of official promotional items not released to the publi

James recently appeared on the BBC's One and Only Show and was also featured on MTV Cribs. Over the past twenty years, he has also travelled the globe to see Madonna perform in concert. By the end of 2008's Sticky and Sweet World Tour, James will have seen Madonna perfom over 100 times.

Cecile Jacques

Cécile is working on the Simply Madonna exhibition, promoting it through Facebook (the "Simply Madonna Exhibition in London" group) and different fan internet sites /groups in France and in the UK. Cécile Jacques has been working for the past eight years in Italy, France and now in the UK as a Project and Research Manager in the Advertising & Market research Industry. Cécile bought the first Madonna album at the age of ten at a highway gas station in Italy...and ever since then, has been a huge fan of the Queen of Pop.

Cécile:  "As well as an amazing dancer and musician, Madonna has deeply changed people's perceptions of women, power, sexuality, tolerance, self confidence and motivation. She has been an inspiration to me as a person who is fearless and always strives for perfection. I would not be where I am today without her positive, "can-do" approach to life" influence.