By Mehmet Solmaz

BIRMINGHAM, England (AA) — A jumper worn by Britain's late Princess Diana and depicting a black sheep has been sold for $1.14 million at an auction in New York on Thursday.

The British-founded American multinational arts company Sotheby’s held the auction for two weeks and made the bidding for the most expensive piece of clothing owned by the former Princess of Wales to sell at auction.

There were a total of 44 bids within 15 minutes for the famous item of clothing, which ultimately pushed the sale to a staggering 14 times more than its initial asking price of $80,000.

Diana first wore the woolen sweater, which has a black and white sheep motif, to a polo match of her fiancé, the then-prince of Wales, in June 1981.

Sotheby’s argues that the media's portrayal of Diana’s fashion choices highlights the role of media as fashion gatekeepers that shape public opinion, create trends, and influence consumer behavior.

“There are a few cases such as, ‘The Revenge Dress’ and ‘The Sheep Jumper,’ that garnered so much attention, the impact bubbled over into sociocultural discourse,” the company said in its profile for the late princess.