Prop riding crop from a costume worn by Nona Hendryx of Labelle: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

This prop riding crop is part of 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).

The riding crop (.7) is a slightly flexible plastic tapered shaft covered with black braided synthetic fiber. The entire crop is spray painted with metallic silver paint. On the thin end of the crop shaft is a short loop of black leather (the keeper). Attached to the thicker end of the crop is a thin loop of black leather to be worn over the wearer's wrist. There is a silver cap on the thicker end of the crop at its handle. One (1) bead of black scored plastic is attached to the shaft approximately 6 1/2 inches from the tip of the metal cap. There is one (1) metal hook sewn on the handle so it can attach at the proper right hip of the white long-sleeved ankle-length unitard.

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: crops (animal equipment)
• Type: props
• Medium: reinforced plastic, paint, leather, and metal
• Dimensions: H x W x D (On form): 25 5/8 × 11/16 × 3/4 in. (65.1 × 1.7 × 1.9 cm)
• Dimensions: H x W x D (Flat): 25 5/8 × 2 1/2 × 3/4 in. (65.1 × 6.4 × 1.9 cm)
• Place used: Metropolitan Opera House, New York City, Manhattan County, New York, United States, North and Central America
• Topic: African American
• Topic: Clothing and dress
• Topic: Costume
• Topic: Costume design
• Topic: Design
• Topic: Disco (Music)
• Topic: Funk (Music)
• Topic: Rhythm and blues (Music)
• Object number: 2014.246.2.7
• 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.