A UNIQUE jacket handmade for a charity auction has been returned after it was stolen from a shopping centre mannequin in Newcastle.
The sleeveless jacket was painstakingly developed by local teacher Michelle Villis for Corethics' sustainable design competition but disappeared from its display at Charlestown Square last month.
It had been donated to be auctioned at a gala event on March 13 to raise money for sustainable water projects in the developing world.
Organisers were "gobsmacked" and pleaded with the thief to return the garment.
Corethics founder Michelle Williams confirmed the one-of-a-kind jacket had been returned less than two weeks out from the big night.
"I had a feeling we would recover the jacket, it is so unique and such a piece of art, that it would be hard not to stand out," she said.
A young mother discovered the garment dumped in a bush near the Coles supermarket at Mayfield and contacted GPT Group, which owns Charlestown Square, after recognising the unique design.
"We're just so grateful for all the media that helped spread the word and of course, the lovely woman who found the jacket and returned it safely," Ms Williams said.
The garment was a finalist in the international design competition run by the Newcastle-based charity Corethics and the winner was to be announced at the fundraising gala in Merewether next month.
The garment will now be able to go to silent auction and the proceeds will go towards helping end chemical pollution in Indonesia.
Ms Williams earlier described the jacket as beautiful.
"It's just phenomenal ... it's a super unique garment," she said at the time.
She said the design had been in the works since July last year and had taken a significant amount of intricate work by Ms Villis, including hand-stitching tiny water bubbles.
