Olivia Rodrigo has revealed that she spent an “exorbitant amount of money” buying the dress worn by Meg White on the cover of The White Stripes’ classic album ‘Elephant’.
Speaking in a new interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Rodrigo discussed her long-standing love for the band and revealed that she now owns one of the duo’s most recognisable pieces of memorabilia.
The vintage white Gunne Sax dress was worn by drummer White for the artwork of the band’s 2003 fourth album ‘Elephant’, which features her and Jack White sitting either side of an elephant trunk-shaped rope against the duo’s trademark red backdrop.
It was put up for sale by Julien’s Auctions in May, with an estimated value of between $4,000 (£3,000) and $6,000 (£4,500), but ultimately sold for $25,600 (£19,000).
Rodrigo has now confirmed that she was the successful bidder, describing the purchase as an “exorbitant amount of money”.
She had originally hoped to wear the dress while performing at her inaugural Daisy Chain Fields festival in California in August, but reconsidered because it was “too fucking hot”.
“Maybe if I do Daisy Chain in the winter, I can wear it,” she added.
Rodrigo’s admiration for The White Stripes stretches back years. When she first met Jack White in 2022, she described him as her “hero of all heroes”, while White returned the compliment.
“She’s very cool, very real and very much a lover of music,” he said at the time. “She’s also introducing another set of youth to the love of vinyl records as well. Respect.”
White also became something of a mentor to Rodrigo as she worked on her second album ‘Guts’. She later revealed that he had written her a letter containing the advice: “Your only job is to write music that you would want to hear on the radio.”
Their connection continued at The White Stripes’ Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame induction in 2025, where Rodrigo called ‘Seven Nation Army’ the “most iconic song of all time”.
She and Feist then performed an acoustic rendition of ‘We’re Going To Be Friends’, while Twenty One Pilots covered ‘Seven Nation Army’.
Rodrigo has continued to cite rock and alternative music as a major influence on her own work. Last year, she spoke about delving deeper into The Cure, New Order and Joy Division, having previously named Bikini Kill as another artist she grew up listening to.
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