Pink, green, and gold floral brocade costume worn by Little Richard
date: label: Date
content: late 1960s
name: label: Designed by
content: Melvin James, American
label: Worn by
content: Little Richard, American, 1932 - 2020
notes: label: Description
content: A two-piece costume ensemble designed by Melvin James and worn by Little Richard consisting of a top (a) and pants (b) in gold satin with a pink and green floral brocade pattern trimmed in hot pink fringe. The top has a high neckline with fuschia sequins at the collar and exaggerated kimono-style sleeves that fall to mid-calf length. There is pink fringe around the collar, hem, and wrists. There is a zipper closure at the back of the shirt and a label reading [A / Melvin James / Original / Detroit, Mich.]. The matching bell bottomed pants have three layers of pink fringe at the ankles. There is a metal fastener and zipper closure at the interior right waistband.
place: label: Place made
content: Detroit, Wayne County, Michigan, United States, North and Central America
topic: label: Topic
content: African American
label: Topic
content: Clothing and dress
label: Topic
content: Composers (Musicians)
label: Topic
content: Costume
label: Topic
content: Gospel (Music)
label: Topic
content: Instrumentalists (Musicians)
label: Topic
content: Musicians
label: Topic
content: Rhythm and blues (Music)
label: Topic
content: Rock and roll (Music)
label: Topic
content: Singers (Musicians)
label: Topic
content: Soul (Music)
setName: label: See more items in
content: National Museum of African American History and Culture Collection
label: Classification
content: Clothing - Costume
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of African American History and Culture
identifier: label: Object number
content: 2020.53.1ab
objectType: label: Type
content: shirts
label: Type
content: trousers
objectRights: label: Restrictions & Rights
content: Unknown – Restrictions Possible
label: Restrictions & Rights
content: Rights assessment and proper usage is the responsibility of the user.
physicalDescription: label: Medium
content: satin, brocade, fringe, sequin, and metal
label: Dimensions
content: H x W (a. shirt): 27 1/2 × 23 × 38 1/2 in. (69.9 × 58.4 × 97.8 cm)
label: Dimensions
content: H x W (b. pants): 41 × 13 1/2 in. (104.1 × 34.3 cm)