Aguilera’s ribbon cutting sparks scrum at Harrods

Things got “Dirrty” when pop star Christina Aguilera opened the Harrods sale yesterday.

The singer sparked a huge scrum as hundreds of fans and shoppers jostled to catch a glimpse of the blonde as she wandered around the exclusive store on the first day of the summer sale.

The 23-year-old followed in the footsteps of Victoria Beckham and Pierce Brosnan, who have previously cut the ribbon at the Knightsbridge shop.

Wearing a white Marilyn Monroe-style Carlos Miele strapless dress and black patent-leather heels by Giuseppe Zanotti, the American stopped to try on a stg£37,600 Piaget 18-carat white gold necklace set with diamonds, reduced to stg£18,000, and then walked around the store with it on.

She also tried on a diamond-set 18-carat white gold Audemars Piguet watch reduced from stg£308,100 to stg£124,000.

Harrods’ boss Mohamed Al Fayed walked hand-in-hand with the star, whose last album Stripped sold 10 million copies worldwide, on the traditional walkabout, after she arrived in an open-topped horse-drawn carriage.

She said before the store’s opening: “I love having the opportunity and chance to come to London and today I have another reason to be here, for the Harrods’ sale.

“I have heard there are some really good bargains, so good luck shopping.”

A planned visit to the store’s pet department was cancelled after the crowd became too much but Christina later cuddled a puppy, a white Bichon Fries.

During the walkabout dozens of security guards joined Christina’s entourage in an attempt to stop her being mobbed by screaming fans.

The star, whose hits include Dirrty, Beautiful and Genie in a Bottle, was reportedly paid stg£200,000 to open the store and was also flown in on a private jet from her home in California.

Last night, she stayed in Al Fayed’s penthouse near to the store and yesterday morning she had a VIP breakfast with the Harrods executive.

Queues started forming outside the store at 7am this morning with shoppers desperate to get their hands on the available bargains.

For example, a Creme de la Mer jar of face cream which was slashed from stg£800 to stg£80, and a Berchet F1 Ferrari toy car, which was slashed from stg£399 to stg£29.95, were some of the items on offer.