Olivia Rodrigo Reveals She's the Mystery Buyer of Meg White's Iconic 'Elephant' Dress
Olivia Rodrigo has confirmed she's the buyer who paid $25,600 for the vintage Gunne Sax white dress Meg White wore on the cover of The White Stripes' 2003 album Elephant. Rodrigo revealed the purchase in a new interview with The Hollywood Reporter, calling the price "exorbitant."
The Elephant cover was shot against the band's signature red background, with Meg White and Jack White seated on either side of an elephant-trunk-shaped rope. According to NME, Rodrigo had originally planned to wear the dress on stage at her own festival.
The auction
- Item: Gunne Sax vintage white dress worn by Meg White on the Elephant album cover
- Auction house: Julien's Auctions, sold this past May
- Estimate: $4,000–$6,000 (roughly £3,000–£4,500)
- Final price: $25,600 (roughly £19,000)
Why she didn't wear it
Rodrigo had hoped to debut the dress on stage at the inaugural Daisy Chain Fields festival in California this August, but scrapped the plan because it was "too hot." She said she might get the chance to wear it if the festival is ever held in winter instead.
Her history with Jack White
Rodrigo's connection to The White Stripes goes back further than the auction. When she first met Jack White in 2022, she called him the "hero of all heroes"; White in turn described her as cool, genuine, and deeply in love with music, crediting her with bringing vinyl culture to a new generation of young fans.
White also played a mentor-like role while Rodrigo made her second album, Guts, once writing her a note advising that "your only job is to write music you'd want to hear on the radio."
When The White Stripes were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2025, Rodrigo called "Seven Nation Army" the most iconic song of all time. She joined Feist for an acoustic rendition of "We're Going to Be Friends," while Twenty One Pilots covered "Seven Nation Army" at the ceremony. Rodrigo has repeatedly cited rock and alternative acts — including The Cure, New Order, Joy Division, and Bikini Kill, which she grew up listening to — as formative influences on her songwriting.