Black crepe pant suit designed by Michael Harrell and worn by Patti Labelle: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

A black crepe pant suit designed by Michael Harrell and worn by Patti Labelle at the 34th Grammy Awards. The black jacket is made of wool crepe and has a wide off the shoulder mink fur collar (a). The jacket opens at the center front, it closes with four metal hook and eyes, and four buttons. The buttons are made of metal wrapped in black synthetic fabric. The set in sleeves are full length, two decorative buttons are sewn to the bottom of each sleeve along the exterior seam. The front of the jacket is made with six panels of fabric. Horizontal double welted pockets at hip level are sewn to each side of the jacket which stretch from the princess seam to just before each side seam. The proper left pocket is closed with tack stitches. The back of the jacket is made of six panels of fabric which includes a center back seam and two princess seams. The underside of the fur collar is lined with black silk satin. The inside of the jacket has self-facing along all the exterior seams. The inside of the jacket is lined with black synthetic satin and six darts are sewn along the waistline. The jacket is made with machine stitching except for the collar and the hem which are sewn with hand whip stitches. A label is sewn to the facing of the proper left side of the jacket that reads [michael harrell] in blue text.

The pants are made of black wool crepe (b). They have two darts sewn to the waistband along each pantleg and a vertical double welted pocket set into each side. The pants have a straight cut and are tapered slightly at the bottom. A ten and a half inch invisible metal zipper is sewn to the center back of the pants and two seven inch darts are sewn to each side of the pants, starting at the waist. The pants are lined with black synthetic chiffon. The lining is fully secured to the pants along the waistline and the zipper but is tacked to the wool crepe along the bottom of the pant legs.

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date: 1991; worn February 25, 1992
• Designed by: Michael Harrell, American
• Worn by: Patti Labelle, American, born 1944
• Type: jackets
• Type: trousers
• Type: pantsuits
• Medium: fur, wool crepe, synthetic satin, silk satin, synthetic chiffon, and metal
• Dimensions: L x W (a. jacket): 25 × 21 1/2 in. (63.5 × 54.6 cm)
• Dimensions: Waist: 15 in. (38.1 cm)
• Dimensions: L x W (b. pants): 44 × 15 in. (111.8 × 38.1 cm)
• Place made: New York City, New York, United States, North and Central America
• Place used: New York City, New York, United States, North and Central America
• Topic: African American
• Topic: Clothing and dress
• Topic: Fashion
• Topic: Fashion design
• Topic: Rhythm and blues (Music)
• Topic: Singers (Musicians)
• Object number: 2019.58ab
• Credit Line: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of Michael Harrell
• 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 underlying object's rights statement is: No known copyright restrictions Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.