Designer clothing donated by David and Victoria Beckham to help support victims of Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines was snapped up within hours – with many buyers cashing in by selling on items on eBay.
Dozens of pieces from the couple’s wardrobe went on sale yesterday at the British Red Cross shop in Kensington & Chelsea, which specialises in second-hand designer clothing.
A pair of Gina boots donated by Victoria raised £200, the most for a single item, while the cheapest was a Dolce&Gabbana tie, donated by the former England footballer, which sold for £25.
Other items included a tuxedo which belonged to the ex-Manchester United player and ladies shoes donated by the one-time Spice Girl from designer brands including Dolce&Gabbana, Jimmy Choo and Roberto Cavalli.
However, the rare tailored tuxedo, which Beckham wore to an awards ceremony attended by the Duchess of Cambridge, was put up for auction on eBay within hours of the charity sale.
The outfit had last night already received bids of more than £300.
The Beckhams donated their unwanted clothes and other items to support the Red Cross Shop Drop raising money for the Philippines campaign and they urged members of the public to do the same.
A spokesman for the British Red Cross said: “There were hundreds and hundreds of people here.
“People had been queuing all round the block for a few hours before we opened our doors. I have never seen anything like it, it was manic.
“This was absolutely the most people we had ever had visit our store in one day. We knew it would be popular but we were overwhelmed.
“The Beckhams wanted everything to be priced very reasonably so anyone on the street would be able to come in and buy something.”
The Red Cross shop had planned to stay open until 8pm, but decided to close by 5pm instead, as it had sold out of all the items donated by the Beckhams by then. Around 500 transactions were put through the tills by the time the shop closed.
The spokesman added: “This was an amazingly generous donation and it is helping us to raise vital awareness of our work in the Philippines. The focus is on encouraging others to clear out their wardrobes and drop off clothes at their local Red Cross shop.”
So far, a total of £57million has been raised by the British public to help people affected by the disaster.
The Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) said its Philippines appeal had climbed by £7million in the last week from the £50million raised in the first seven days.
DEC chief executive Saleh Saeed said: “The public’s generous donations are helping us to reach more and more people each day who lost so much in the disaster and urgently need life’s essentials such as clean water, soap and food.”
The money, which includes £5million from the UK Government and £600,000 from the Scottish Government, is helping give aid to more than half a million people.
DEC, an alliance of 14 leading charities, said a donation of £25 would buy a month’s supply of water purification tablets for 10 families, while £50 feeds one family for two weeks and £100 would give them emergency shelter and bedding.
The death toll from the typhoon, one of the strongest on record, has risen above 5,000 and is expected to climb further.