Elton John is auctioning his wardrobe on eBay – and it’s surprisingly affordable

As clear outs go, it’s a pretty spectacular one. Sir Elton John, the king of maximalist excess, is having a Marie Kondo moment – well, as Marie Kondo as Sir Elton is ever likely to go.

The performer has cleared out his Atlanta penthouse apartment. It’s a place with emotional ties for the star who stayed there when he was newly out of rehab in the 90s and the local community is said to mean a great deal to him.

The first batch of items went on sale via Christie’s in February, a line-up of fabulously Elton-esque pieces – Cartier diamonds, Versace silk shirts and French antiques. Now another haul is being auctioned via eBay, with proceeds going to the Elton John Aids Foundation.

The sale kicked off last Thursday and ends on Sunday July 7 – the bids start at $26.60 as a nod to the apartment’s 2660 Peachtree Road address. For any man fond of a touch of flamboyance (or just a respect for fashion history), there are more than a few treasures to choose from.

This sale might not be as vast as John’s Christie’s auction, which fetched over $15 million, nor the pieces quite so rare or high octane, but there are absolute finds for the chap who’s keen to express himself. As Sir Elton says in a video for eBay, “I hope these items will inspire you to express your unique spirit and bring you as much joy as they’ve brought me.”

The more outré pieces include a turquoise-blue Versace suit, for example, or a flurry of silken Versace shirts, either exploding with Medusa prints or Baroque gold leaf. There are more recent additions, too, like a number of Gucci designs from the period when Alessandro Michele brought maximalism to the Italian fashion house – see playful suits with tiger motifs or quirky admiralty detailing.

Bids on a Gucci leather jacket embroidered with studs and flora and fauna motifs have already reached over £3,000, while a pair of Gucci velvet slippers with an obscene slogan embroidered on them are set to fetch upwards of the current £3,00 bid, ideal for your average dandy with a filthy streak.

As with the previous sale, this is also a venture through 20th-century fashion history. Take the expansive collection of 1980s Yohji Yamamoto clothes, from floaty white tunics to black tie suit jackets worn with shorts. There’s also a range of surprisingly sensible shoes, from John Lobb, Prada and Louis Vuitton (alongside high octane high-heeled boots courtesy of Versace, obviously).

There are also nods to the more casual side of Sir Elton’s wardrobe, such as tracksuits from Adidas and polo shirts from Fred Perry. The bright pink Gucci knitting kit means you can also knit your own mittens, should you be so inclined. No news on whether the artist formerly known as Reginald Dwight ever perfected his casting off.

Perhaps more than any other male artist in recent years, Sir Elton’s relationship with fashion has been as integral to his identity as his music. Of course, there were the showpieces of the 70s and 80s, the stage costumes erupting with feathers or Minnie Mouse ears (and the dress, as it happens), but both the Christie’s collection and this one show the curatorial eye of Sir Elton during certain periods – his patronising of Japanese and Belgian designers during the 80s and 90s, when those sections of fashion were making waves – and the glorious coming-together of Gianni Versace and Sir Elton in the 1990s. Versace’s take-no-prisoners approach to men’s dressing joyously, exuberantly aligned with Sir Elton’s more-is-more policy.

Of course, the attire of Sir Elton isn’t for everyone, but if you’re so tempted by the auction – or just curious about embracing your inner peacock – a garishly patterned shirt’s a fun place to start. Or perhaps a bold bomber jacket; rather cool on an older fellow, when you’d expect him in an upright blazer, and can be dressed up with a shirt underneath too.

“Throughout my career, clothes have been so important. Without the process of dressing up, looking different and having fun, I would never have been the artist I became,” Sir Elton once told Vogue.

I’m minded of a tender moment I was lucky enough to witness at Sir Elton’s Windsor home years ago (can you hear the clang of the name-dropping from here?) during an Elton John AIDS Foundation charity fundraiser.

Just before curtain up on the grand event – auction lots included a McLaren supercar and a date with Victoria Beckham – I noticed his husband David Furnish at the side of the stage adjusting Sir Elton’s bow tie, dusting his jacket, fastening his cufflinks. It was a rare glimpse of a private moment in what goes into making the image of the icon. And with that, Sir Elton strode on stage resplendent in glittering Gucci with a lion’s roar of: “Shut the f–k up you lot!” And everybody very much did.

Rocket Man Resale By Elton John ends on Sunday June 7. Browse the auction here