Bernard Johnson pants worn by Melvin Van Peebles: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

A pair of Bernard Johnson pants worn by Melvin Van Peebles. The black polyester pants have a straight silhouette and an all-over quilted surface. There is a waistband made from two panels of fabric that closes proper left over right with two sets of metal snaps – one of the male snaps is missing. Below the metal snaps is a metal zipper with plastic teeth. Each leg is made from two panels of fabric, sewn together at the inner and outer leg. There are no pockets on the back and there’s a layer of white polyester fiber fill between the inner and out layers. The inside of the pants are lined with a gray synthetic fabric. There are no labels.

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date: 2000 - 2010
• Created by: Bernard Johnson, American, 1936 - 1997
• Subject of: Melvin Van Peebles, American, 1932 - 2021
• Type: trousers
• Medium: polyester, metal, and plastic
• Dimensions: Length: 42 1/2 in. (108 cm)
• Dimensions: Waist: 12 5/16 in. (31.3 cm)
• Place made: United States, North and Central America
• Topic: African American
• Topic: Actors
• Topic: Black Enterprise
• Topic: Clothing and dress
• Topic: Film
• Topic: Musicians
• Object number: 2024.60.8.2
• Credit Line: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture
• Data Source: National Museum of African American History and Culture

Sources and reuse

Catalogue descriptions and facts adapted from National Museum of African American History and Culture through the Smithsonian's official Open Access dataset. This record explicitly marks its metadata CC0 1.0; formatting and selection have been changed. The displayed image also has an explicit CC0 designation. The underlying object's rights statement is: No known copyright restrictions Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.