"The Wizard of Woo" cape worn by Bernie Worrell of Parliament-Funkadelic: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

An ankle-length purple microfiber cotton and lamé cape worn by Bernie Worrell of Parliament-Funkadelic during the 1996 "Mothership Reconnection Tour."

The exterior of the cape features a swirling design of glittering purple, silver, and gold lamé. The shoulder capelet is adorned with gold cotton embroidery all around. On the back, in large letters, is “THE / WIZARD / OF / WOO” between applique embroidery of stars, a treble clef sign, and a sixteenth note. On the proper left shoulder is more gold embroidery of stars, musical notes, and a treble clef sign. On the proper right shoulder is a large silver cotton embroidery of a grand piano with gold keys, beneath two stars and a sixteenth note. The capelet is edged with a thick cord of twisted purple and gold. It closes at the front via two silver metal star hooks. Beneath the caplet are at least seven clear plastic buttons for detachment. On the inside of the solid purple cotton microfiber of the cape is a white cotton sewn in tag for Jacki Robinson whose named is embroidered in bright blue thread.

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date: ca. 1996
• Created by: Jacki Robinson
• Worn by: Bernie Worrell, American, 1944 - 2016
• Subject of: Parliament-Funkadelic, American, founded 1955
• Type: capes (outerwear)
• Medium: cotton (fiber) polyester and lamé with plastic and metal
• Dimensions: L x W: 54 5/16 × 23 5/8 in. (138 × 60 cm)
• Dimensions: Diameter: 83 7/16 in. (212 cm)
• Place made: Plainfield, Union County, New Jersey, United States, North and Central America
• Topic: African American
• Topic: Clothing and dress
• Topic: Costume
• Topic: Costume design
• Topic: Funk (Music)
• Topic: Instrumentalists (Musicians)
• Topic: Men
• Topic: Music
• Object number: 2021.43.1
• Credit Line: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of Judie Worrell and Bassl Worrell
• 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.