SWFTjumper - Hattie Bishop<br /><br />An artist is selling the world's most expensive Christmas jumper - a £30k diamond encrusted festive number - which took him over six months to make. <br /><br />Aidan Liban, 33, spent his life-savings on the luxury garment in an effort to raise funds for the NHS. <br /><br />The jumper - which cost £7k to make - boasts a reindeer design adorned with diamond encrusted silver stars, 24 carat gold threading, Italian silk lining and is covered in thousands of Swarovski crystals. <br /><br />The previous record holder, at £24k, was made by Tipsy Elves in 2016 and came covered in 24,274 crystals.<br /><br />The former art student hoped to achieve a luxurious take on the 'ugly Christmas jumper tradition'. <br /><br />The idea struck him during lockdown 2020 when he was living alone and working part time as a key worker at a charity. <br /><br />After spending 3,000 hours on the hand-crafted project, he now hopes to sell the jumper for five figures and plans to donate a portion of the cash. <br /><br />Aidan - who also works as a stylist to the stars - from Fulham, London, said: "It is a true piece of art. <br /><br />"I had a vision and I made it come true. <br /><br />"I wanted to create something magnificent and eye-catching - which I have done. <br /><br />"I improvised a lot when making it, I just have an eye for where each element needs to go. <br /><br />"Christmas jumpers were never really in my family tradition, so I thought I’d do it in style. <br /><br />"Whoever does buy it can wear it, but it won’t be washable as it’s so delicate. <br /><br />"The time it’s taken me is the main factor in the price tag, it took me so long. <br /><br />"I’ve only had time to work on it in evenings and weekends. <br /><br />"I’m broke now so I need to get it sold. I think it's worth every penny."<br /><br />He started the project in December 2020, after spening months sourcing the right materials and working late into the night. <br /><br />Despite all his hard work Aidan found himself in a race against time to have the piece ready to sell during the festive season - only finishing it in November 2021. <br /><br />The 24-carat silk was ordered from a specialist French shop, costing £300. <br /><br />The 2000 Swarovski crystals cost £1,000 and the Italian silk lining in dark navy was over £200 alone. <br /><br />The 150 diamonds - which adorn the silver stars near the collar of the jumper - were bought from a Hatton Garden specialist and cost around £5,000. <br /><br />Aidan, who studied at Central St Martins, in London, said: "No expense has been spared at all. <br /><br />"I’ve done pretty much all of it myself aside from a few very delicate bits. <br /><br />"The main body of the jumper is made from wool and cotton, it’s lined with gorgeous silk too, it’s soft like a kitten. <br /><br />"The diamonds have small imperfections, meaning they wouldn’t suit jewelry but are perfect for the jumper. <br /><br />"It took quite a while to source the perfect ones. <br /><br />"They’re embedded on lovely raw silver stars. <br /><br />"The reindeer even has a Swarovski gold locket round it's neck. <br /><br />"The jumper tells a story, it’s a fun novelty piece. <br /><br />"It’s very rare that something of this quality is made, it’s very exciting. <br /><br />"I want it to wow people and break up the doom and gloom we’ve been hearing about for the past few years. <br /><br />"I kept it a secret from most of my friends and family, they were enthralled when I did the big reveal. <br /><br />"I’m serious about selling it, it’s listed on my website if anyone is keen!"<br /><br />For the second year in a row, the artist is spending Christmas working at the charity.<br /><br />The jumper is available at: www.mostexpensivejumper.co.uk and you can find more of Aidan's work at @aidannft<br /><br /><br /><br />ENDS
