To mark the 25th anniversary of the "Glitter" soundtrack, Mariah Carey launched new merch, according to Page Six. She unveiled the "Loverboy" tank top wearing a $1,550,000 diamond necklace from Leviev that runs 44.71 carats with a 14-carat center stone.
Do the math on the modern diva economy. The product is a tank top. The Halo is $1,550,000. That is not a jewelry box, that is an invoice, and the invoice is wearing a tank. Twenty-five years after "Glitter" shipped, the soundtrack is back as an Amazon storefront, and the announcement photo has to be expensive enough that nobody notices the SKU in the caption. The Halo is not an accessory. It is the entire press release, worn around the neck.
And the context is the funnier part. Leviev has been busy. At Sunday's VMAs, Madonna accepted Artist of the Year in a $2.8 million piece from the same jeweler. Taylor Swift accepted the first-ever Artist Director Honors in a custom 10-carat ring from the same jeweler. The jeweler is the actual A-lister this week, the stars are its campaign faces, and the "Glitter" anniversary is the current activation. The butterfly ring she says she never takes off is now a permanent sponsor slot.
Twenty-five years later, the movie is long gone, the single is a deep cut, and the merch is a tank. The glitter never left, but it changed management, and The Halo bills by the carat.
YOUR TURN: Is a $1.5M necklace a flex, or just a merch photo with a better budget?
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