I have always been fascinated by the old rhinestone and fancy dress clothes of the country stars. There are two major contributors responsible for this…Nudie Cohn and his apprentice, Manuel Cuevas. Both master tailors who became famous for their unique, deeply personalized designs, creating iconic looks and continuing the rhinestone tradition.
Nuta Kotlyarenko known professionally as Nudie Cohn was born on todays date 1902. Nudie was a Ukrainian-American tailor who designed decorative rhinestone-covered suits, known popularly as “Nudie Suits”, and other elaborate outfits for some of the most famous celebrities of his era. He also became famous for his outrageous customized automobiles.
Cohn and Kruger relocated to California in the early 1940s, and began designing and manufacturing clothing in their garage. In 1947, Cohn persuaded young, struggling country singer Tex Williams to buy him a sewing machine with the proceeds from auctioning off a horse. In exchange, Cohn made clothing for Williams. As their creations gained a following, the Cohns opened “Nudie’s of Hollywood” on the corner of Victory Boulevard and Vineland Avenue in North Hollywood, dealing exclusively in Western wear, a style much in fashion at the time.
Cohn’s designs brought the already-flamboyant Western style to a new level of ostentation with the liberal use of rhinestones and themed images in chain stitch embroidery. One of his early designs, in 1962, for singer Porter Wagoner, was a peach-colored suit featuring rhinestones, a covered wagon on the back, and wagon wheels on the legs. He offered the suit to Wagoner for free, confident that the popular performer would serve as a billboard for his clothing line. His confidence proved justified, and the business grew rapidly. In 1963, the Cohns relocated their business to a larger facility on Lankershim Boulevard in North Hollywood and renamed it “Nudie’s Rodeo Tailors”.
Many of Cohn’s designs became signature looks for their owners. Among his most famous creations was Elvis Presley’s $10,000 gold lamé suit worn by the singer on the cover of his 50,000,000 Elvis Fans Can’t Be Wrong album. Cohn created Hank Williams’ white cowboy suit with musical notations on the sleeves, and Gram Parsons’ infamous suit for the cover of the Flying Burrito Brothers’ 1969 album The Gilded Palace of Sin, featuring pills, poppies, marijuana leaves, naked women, and a huge cross. He designed the iconic costume worn by Robert Redford in the 1979 film Electric Horseman, which was exhibited by the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City. He also designed Jimmy Page’s famous black colored Dragon suit worn at Led Zeppelin’s Earl’s Court shows in 1975.
Many of the film costumes worn by Roy Rogers and Dale Evans were Nudie’s designs. John Lennon was a customer, as were John Wayne, David Cassidy, Gene Autry, George Jones, Cher, Ronald Reagan, Elton John, Robert Mitchum, Pat Buttram, Tony Curtis, Michael Landon, Glen Campbell, Michael Nesmith, Hank Snow, Hank Thompson, and numerous musical groups, notably America and Chicago. ZZ Top band members Billy Gibbons and Dusty Hill sported Nudie suits on the cover photo of their 1975 album Fandango!.
In 2006, Porter Wagoner said he had accumulated 52 Nudie suits, costing between $11,000 and $18,000 each, since receiving his first free outfit in 1962. Belgian entertainer Bobbejaan Schoepen was a client and personal friend; his collection of 35 complete stage outfits is the largest in Europe.
In 2015, Nudie’s granddaughter Jamie reopened his shop, leading to a revival of Nudie suits among celebrities during the late 2010s and early 2020s. The new generation of clients include rappers Lil Nas X, Diplo and Post Malone, pop stars Kesha, Harry Styles, Jenny Lewis, and Taylor Swift, and lead singer Brandon Flowers of The Killers, who favored black suits similar to those worn by Marty Stuart and the late Johnny Cash.
Cohn’s creations, particularly those with celebrity provenance, remain popular with country-western and show-business collectors, and continue to command high prices when they come on the market. In December 2009, for example, a white Nudie stage shirt owned by Roy Rogers, decorated with blue tassels and red musical notes, sold for $16,250 at a Christie’s auction.[22] A Nudie shirt worn by Johnny Cash as grand marshal of the 1976 American Bicentennial Grand Parade in Washington, D.C., and in several subsequent stage performances, sold at auction for $25,000 in 2010. The Country Music Hall of Fame is a great place to check out some of the quality craftsmanship from Nudie & Manuel. Some of my favourites…they don’t make em like this anymore.
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