Celebrity corsets fetch $120,000 at auction

LOS ANGELES (Reuters Life!) - Burlesque performer and pin-up Dita Von Teese has a new claim to fame -- designer of the most expensive corset in Hollywood.

A white corset covered with crystals and sporting a tail of pink feathers designed by Von Teese raised $20,000 at an annual auction of celebrity-designed corsets on Friday held by lingerie chain Frederick's of Hollywood.

This topped the record $18,000 that a corset from Oscar winning actress Charlize Theron fetched last year, a spokeswoman for Frederick's said.

Von Teese, 35, who was married to rocker Marilym Manson, has achieved some notoriety in the fetish world as a tightlacer. By wearing a corset for many years, she had trimmed her natural waistline to a reported 21 inches.

In total the auction raised $120,000.

Behind Von Teese's corset was an $11,000 sale of a champagne-colored number with platinum glass beading that was dreamed up by actress Scarlett Johansson.

Other corsets were designed by singer Beyonce Knowles, Christina Aguilera and Gwen Stefani.

The auction benefited Clothes Off Our Back, a non-profit group founded by actors Jane Kaczmarek and Bradley Whitford which sells celebrity clothes to raise money that will help improve the lives of children.