Imitation leather pants worn by Janet Jackson in "Scream" music video: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

4.1-.3 A white long-sleeve shirt covered with circular gathered puckers of fabric to create a three-dimensional effect, a pair of white faux leather pants, and an off-white faux leather bikini top worn by Janet Jackson in her and Michael Jackson's 1995 music video "Scream." The shirt has a Dexter Wong label. At a cost of $7 million, the music video was listed in Guinness World Records as the most expensive music video ever made. The song was a certified platinum single, and a number one song on the Billboard Hot Dance Club play chart and topped the charts in several international territories. It won the GRAMMY FOR Best Music Video Short Form, and received 11 MTV Video Music Award nominations - more than any other music video, and won Best Dance Video, Best Choreography and Best Art Direction. It was also given a Billboard Music Award for Best Pop Rock Video. The ensemble is stored in an archival garment storage box.

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date: 1995
• Worn by: Janet Jackson, American, born 1966
• Type: trousers
• Medium: imitation leather
• Topic: African American
• Topic: Clothing and dress
• Topic: Costume
• Topic: Fashion
• Topic: Popular music
• Topic: Rhythm and blues (Music)
• Topic: Singers (Musicians)
• Object number: 2021.28.4.3
• 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 underlying object's rights statement is: Unknown – Restrictions Possible Rights assessment and proper usage is the responsibility of the user.