Costume worn by Nona Hendryx of Labelle: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

A costume worn by Nona Hendryx of Labelle. The costume consists of a headdress (.1), a cape (.2), silver studded black leather collar, breast covers, and codpiece (.3a-d), wrist cuffs (.4ab), platform boots (.5ab), prop handcuffs (.6), and a prop riding crop (.7). It was worn with a long-sleeved ankle-length white unitard that is not part of the museum collection. This costume is very similar to a costume worn by Hendryx during a performance at the Metropolitan Opera House on October 6, 1974.

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date: 1974
• Designed by: Dorian Blakely
• Worn by: Nona Hendryx, American, born 1944
• Subject of: Labelle, American, founded 1962
• Type: ensembles (costume)
• Medium: Headdress (.1): feather, satin, wood, metal, leather, and Velcro™
• Medium: Cape (.2): synthetic fiber, metal, batting, and wire
• Medium: Leather components (.3a-d): leather and metal
• Medium: Wrist cuffs (.4ab): leather, metal, and batting
• Medium: Boots (.5ab): plastic, synthetic fiber, leather, metal, batting, and Velcro™
• Medium: Handcuffs (.6): leather and metal
• Medium: Riding crop (.7): reinforced plastic, paint, leather, and metal
• Place used: United States, North and Central America
• Topic: African American
• Topic: Actors
• Topic: Clothing and dress
• Topic: Costume
• Topic: Disco (Music)
• Topic: Funk (Music)
• Topic: Rhythm and blues (Music)
• Topic: Rock and roll (Music)
• Object number: 2014.246.2
• Credit Line: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of Nona Hendryx of Labelle
• 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.