Ray Brown (born 27 September 1959) is an Australian tailor and clothing designer.
He has designed custom clothing for numerous celebrity
rock music
Rock music is a broad genre of popular music that originated as " rock and roll" in the United States in the late 1940s and early 1950s, developing into a range of different styles in the mid-1960s and later, particularly in the United States an ...
ians, and operates his own
brand
A brand is a name, term, design, symbol or any other feature that distinguishes one seller's good or service from those of other sellers. Brands are used in business, marketing, and advertising for recognition and, importantly, to create ...
for stage wear, ''It's a Ray!''
Early life
Brown was born in
Darwin, Australia to Ron Brown, a labor rights activist for the building trades, and Clarice Brown, a housewife. As a child, Brown learned carpentry from his father. He completed a four-year training course in
shop fitting which included carpentry. When he was fifteen years old, Brown used his mother's sewing machine to re-design the
jeans he had bought in local shops.
Melbourne and London
Brown relocated to
Melbourne
Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...
, and worked as a designer in a leather store. He was later promoted to a partner in the business, but eventually left to open a Western-style clothing store after seeing the
Nudie Cohn
Nuta Kotlyarenko ( uk, Нута Котляренко; December 15, 1902 – May 9, 1984), known professionally as Nudie Cohn, was an American tailor who designed decorative rhinestone-covered suits, known popularly as "Nudie Suits", and other e ...
-designed shirts worn by
Elvis Presley
Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one ...
.
Brown relocated to
London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
, where he rented rooms in the
Rainbow Theatre. He continued making custom hand-colored Western-style shirts, which he sold through
King's Road
King's Road or Kings Road (or sometimes the King's Road, especially when it was the king's private road until 1830, or as a colloquialism by middle/upper class London residents), is a major street stretching through Chelsea and Fulham, both ...
boutiques. Just before shipping a large order to Germany, thieves broke into his room during a
Bob Marley
Robert Nesta Marley (6 February 1945 – 11 May 1981; baptised in 1980 as Berhane Selassie) was a Jamaican singer, musician, and songwriter. Considered one of the pioneers of reggae, his musical career was marked by fusing elements o ...
concert show and stole the order. When Brown complained about the security to the management of The Rainbow, he was given the job of caretaker of the building, which required him to live in a flat at the top of the theatre. He continued making clothing and was promoted to
Front of House manager.
While living and working there he became friends with
John Lydon, then known as Johnny Rotten, singer of the
Sex Pistols. After the Sex Pistols broke up, Lydon formed
Public Image Ltd
Public Image Ltd (abbreviated and stylized as PiL) are an English post-punk band (and incorporated limited company) formed by singer John Lydon (previously known as the singer of Sex Pistols), guitarist Keith Levene, bassist Jah Wobble, and d ...
( PIL) and wanted his first UK shows with the new band to be at the Rainbow. Brown helped him organize to have the seats removed from the downstairs area of the Theatre for PIL's first London performances in December 1978.
He began making outfits for musicians including Australians
Bon Scott
Ronald Belford "Bon" Scott (9 July 1946 – 19 February 1980) was an Australian singer and songwriter. He was the lead vocalist and lyricist of the hard rock band AC/DC from 1974 until his death in 1980.
Born in Forfar in Angus, Scotlan ...
and the
Little River Band
Little River Band (LRB) are a Rock music, rock band originally formed in Melbourne, Australia, in March 1975. The band achieved commercial success in both Australia and the United States. They have sold more than 30 million records; six studi ...
, as well as
Adam Ant
Stuart Leslie Goddard, better known as Adam Ant (born 3 November 1954), is an English singer, musician, and actor. He gained popularity as the lead singer of new wave group Adam and the Ants and later as a solo artist, scoring 10 UK top ten ...
and the British rock group
Charlie. When the Rainbow's lease was coming to an end, the extensive renovations the building needed were precluded by a preservation order, and Brown left.
Los Angeles
Brown moved to
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...
with 300 US dollars in his pocket. He rented a room in
Hollywood and began making jeans on a rented sewing machine.
His first commission was for video producer Jerry Kramer. When Brown delivered the jeans to the studio where Kramer was editing a
Styx video he met the band's guitarist
Tommy Shaw
Tommy Roland Shaw (born September 11, 1953) is an American guitarist, singer and songwriter best known for his tenure in the rock band Styx (band), Styx as co-lead vocalist. In between his stints with Styx, he has played with other groups includi ...
. Of similar stature to Brown, Shaw complained of the difficulty he had in finding stageworthy clothing that fit. Shaw commissioned Brown to make his red
jumpsuit
A jumpsuit is a one-piece garment with sleeves and legs and typically without integral coverings for feet, hands or head. The original jump suit is the functional one-piece garment used by parachuters.
The original skydivers' jumpsuits wer ...
, and then flew him to Chicago, where he was commissioned to make all the clothing for the band's upcoming ''
Paradise Theatre'' tour, which began in early 1981.
Brown's next clients included
Ozzy Osbourne
John Michael "Ozzy" Osbourne (born 3 December 1948) is an English singer, songwriter, and television personality. He rose to prominence during the 1970s as the lead vocalist of the heavy metal band Black Sabbath, during which period he adop ...
, the band
Judas Priest,
Cher,
The Pointer Sisters
The Pointer Sisters are an American pop and R&B singing group from Oakland, California, that achieved mainstream success during the 1970s and 1980s. Their repertoire has included such diverse genres as pop, jazz, electronic music, bebop, bl ...
,
Barry Manilow, and
Brian Setzer
Brian Robert Setzer (born April 10, 1959) is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He found widespread success in the early 1980s with the 1950s-style rockabilly group Stray Cats, and returned to the music scene in the early 1990s with ...
. He also created off-stage wear for a number of his clients, including wedding outfits for
Jon Bon Jovi,
Vince Neil,
Tommy Lee
Thomas Lee Bass (born October 3, 1962) is an American musician and founding member of the heavy metal band Mötley Crüe. As well as being the band's long-term drummer, Lee founded rap metal band Methods of Mayhem and has pursued solo musical ...
and
John Mellencamp
John J. Mellencamp (born October 7, 1951), previously known as Johnny Cougar, John Cougar, and John Cougar Mellencamp, is an American singer-songwriter. He is known for his catchy brand of heartland rock, which emphasizes traditional instrument ...
, as well as a black
wedding dress
A wedding dress or bridal gown is the dress worn by the bride during a wedding ceremony. The color, style and ceremonial importance of the gown can depend on the religion and culture of the wedding participants. In Western cultures and Anglo ...
for the cover of
Lita Ford
Lita Rossana Ford (born 19 September 1958) is an English-born American guitarist, vocalist, and songwriter. She was the lead guitarist for the all-female rock band the Runaways in the late 1970s, before embarking on a successful glam metal sol ...
's never-completed ''The Bride Wore Black'' album. He created an elaborate diamond-studded leather jacket for the film ''
This Is Spinal Tap'', and in 1998 designed and made the first jackets for the then-new
Arizona Diamondbacks
The Arizona Diamondbacks (colloquially known as the D-backs) are an American professional baseball team based in Phoenix. The Diamondbacks compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. The ...
baseball team.
Brown designed his clothes to be durable enough for use onstage . After
Graham Bonnet
Graham Bonnet (born 23 December 1947) is an English rock singer. He has recorded and performed as a solo artist and as a member of several hard rock and heavy metal bands including Rainbow, Michael Schenker Group, Alcatrazz, and Impellitteri. ...
ripped one of his suits onstage with Brown in the audience, Brown developed techniques aimed to ensure that his clothing would not come apart during live performances. When
Bruce Dickinson attempted onstage to rip the sleeves from a new shirt made by Brown, the sleeves repeatedly failed to come away in front of several thousand people.
Brown began working with a new type of washable
synthetic leather, which he found to be more durable than real leather, and less likely to rip. If the fabric got baggy at the joints, this could be easily remedied by washing it in a washing machine. Bands that preferred real leather such as
Mötley Crüe and Judas Priest were not wearing real leather at all while touring.
He developed a pyramid-studded type of leather with Judas Priest, and was the first to design for artists like Mötley Crüe leather clothing with skulls and crosses, commonly used as ornaments on leather today. He invented lace front leather pants for Jon Bon Jovi; lacing up the side of leather pants for Mötley Crüe, and large banners on the backs of jackets and coats, not seen outside of
motorcycle gang
An outlaw motorcycle club is a motorcycle subculture generally centered on the use of cruiser motorcycles, particularly Harley-Davidsons and choppers, and a set of ideals that purport to celebrate freedom, nonconformity to mainstream culture, ...
s before the concept was developed with Mötley Crüe. Early adopters included
Axl Rose
W. Axl Rose (born William Bruce Rose Jr.; born February 6, 1962) is an American musician. He is best known for being the lead vocalist and lyricist of the hard rock band Guns N' Roses, and has been the band's sole constant member since its incep ...
and Jon Bon Jovi. One jacket he designed for Jon Bon Jovi was exhibited in
The Smithsonian
The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums and education and research centers, the largest such complex in the world, created by the U.S. government "for the increase and diffusion of knowledge". Founded ...
.
Present day
Brown relocated to London in August 2008, where he has created tour clothing for
The Struts
The Struts are a British rock band formed in Derby, Derbyshire in 2012. The band consists of lead vocalist Luke Spiller, guitarist Adam Slack, bassist Jed Elliott, and drummer Gethin Davies.
The band has cited its influences as: Queen, The ...
,
Muse
In ancient Greek religion and mythology, the Muses ( grc, Μοῦσαι, Moûsai, el, Μούσες, Múses) are the inspirational goddesses of literature, science, and the arts. They were considered the source of the knowledge embodied in the ...
, the
Arctic Monkeys
Arctic Monkeys are an English rock band formed in Sheffield in 2002. The group consists of Alex Turner (lead vocals, guitar, keyboards), Jamie Cook (guitar, keyboards), Nick O'Malley (bass guitar, backing vocals), and Matt Helders (drums, ...
' singer
Alex Turner
Alexander David Turner (born 6 January 1986) is an English musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer. He is well known as the frontman and principal songwriter of the rock band Arctic Monkeys, with whom he has released seven albums. He ...
, Liverpool mod
Miles Kane
Miles Peter Kane (born 17 March 1986) is an English musician, best known as a solo artist and the co-frontman of the Last Shadow Puppets. He was also the former frontman of the Rascals, before the band announced their break-up in August 2009. ...
,
Jamiroquai
Jamiroquai () are an English funk and acid jazz band from London. Formed in 1992, they are fronted by vocalist Jay Kay, and were prominent in the London-based funk and acid jazz movement of the 1990s. They built on their acid jazz sound in th ...
,
Rival Sons
Rival Sons is an American rock band formed in Long Beach, California, in 2009. The band consists of Jay Buchanan (lead vocals), Scott Holiday (guitar), Dave Beste (bass guitar) and Michael Miley (drums). They are joined by keyboard player To ...
,
The Darkness,
Lady Starlight, and
Thirty Seconds to Mars
Thirty Seconds to Mars (commonly stylized as 30 Seconds to Mars) is an American rock band from Los Angeles, California, formed in 1998. The band consists of brothers Jared Leto (lead vocals, guitar, bass, keyboards) and Shannon Leto (drums, ...
' singer
Jared Leto.
He made the outfit for
Lady Gaga
Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta ( ; born March 28, 1986), known professionally as Lady Gaga, is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. She is known for her image reinventions and musical versatility. Gaga began performing as a teenag ...
for her performance with the
Rolling Stones in New Jersey on 16 December 2012.
On Brown's work,
Tony Iommi
Anthony Frank Iommi () (born 19 February 1948) is a British musician. He co-founded the pioneering heavy metal band Black Sabbath, and was the band's guitarist, leader and primary composer and sole continuous member for nearly five decades. I ...
,
Black Sabbath
Black Sabbath were an English rock music, rock band formed in Birmingham in 1968 by guitarist Tony Iommi, drummer Bill Ward (musician), Bill Ward, bassist Geezer Butler and vocalist Ozzy Osbourne. They are often cited as pioneers of heavy met ...
guitarist said in 2007,
"Considering Ray only has one color (black) to work with when designing my clothes, he is always able to come-up with interesting and adventurous pieces. For over 25 years Ray has been creating my outfits for both on and off stage, yet he is still able to produce new ideas and concepts."
Exhibitions
Brown's work has been featured in exhibitions and books on the style and fashion of rock and roll. Four of his outfits were featured in
Tommy Hilfiger
Thomas Jacob Hilfiger ( /hɪlˈfɪgər/; born March 24, 1951) is an American fashion designer and the founder of Tommy Hilfiger Corporation.
After starting his career by co-founding a chain of jeans/fashion stores called People's Place in upst ...
's book ''Rock Style: How Fashion Moves to Music''. Outfits made for Bon Jovi, Tony Iommi and Brian Setzer are with the
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. His work was displayed in the
Phoenix Art Museum
The Phoenix Art Museum is the largest museum for visual art in the southwest United States. Located in Phoenix, Arizona, the museum is . It displays international exhibitions alongside its comprehensive collection of more than 18,000 works of ...
's 1997 exhibit commemorating 1980s rock fashion:
*Judas Priest: Jacket (1991)
*Nelson Twins: Jacket, Vest and Pants (1992)
*Cher: Pair of Jeans (1993)
*
Yngwie Malmsteen
Yngwie Johan Malmsteen ( ; born Lars Johan Yngve Lannerbäck, 30 June 1963) is a Swedish guitarist. He first became known in the 1980s for his neoclassical playing style in heavy metal, and has released 22 studio albums in a career spanning ov ...
: Jacket (1994)
In June 2011 the
Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery
Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery (BM&AG) is a museum and art gallery in Birmingham, England. It has a collection of international importance covering fine art, ceramics, metalwork, jewellery, natural history, archaeology, ethnography, local ...
featured a display called "Home of Metal", featuring music from
Birmingham
Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1. ...
and the
Black Country. Of the four bands featured, Judas Priest and
Black Sabbath
Black Sabbath were an English rock music, rock band formed in Birmingham in 1968 by guitarist Tony Iommi, drummer Bill Ward (musician), Bill Ward, bassist Geezer Butler and vocalist Ozzy Osbourne. They are often cited as pioneers of heavy met ...
had been clients of Brown's for 29 years. Clothing made by Brown for these two bands, plus design sketches, were part of the exhibit.
His outfits are displayed in several
Hard Rock Cafe
Hard Rock Cafe, Inc. is a British-based multinational chain of theme restaurants, memorabilia shops, casinos and museums founded in 1971 by Isaac Tigrett and Peter Morton in London. In 1979, the cafe began covering its walls with rock and r ...
s:
*Mumbai, India, Alice Cooper display:; White Tux & Tails Used on every tour from 1986 until some fairly recent shows in North America in 1998. Worn at each concert during the performance of 'School's Out'. Can be seen on the front cover of the video 'Prime Cuts' and in the 'Alice Cooper - Trashes the World' concert video.
*Munich, Germany:
Nikki Sixx
Nikki Sixx (born Frank Carlton Serafino Feranna Jr.; December 11, 1958) is an American musician, best known as the co-founder, bassist, and primary songwriter of the heavy metal band Mötley Crüe. Prior to forming Mötley Crüe, Sixx was a me ...
display:; Black and White Polka Dotted Outfit from "Theatre of Pain" Tour
References
*Blackman, Liz; "Styling A La Hollywood", ''L.A. Weekly'' (California), 11–17 October 1985, Full page feature in "Style" section
*Cherry, Jim; "House of Brown: Rock and Roll Costumer", ''L.A. Weekly'' (California), 26 September – 2 October 1986
*Da Cunha, Shelly; "Tailor to the Best-Dressed Bands", ''Musik Express Sounds'' (Germany), October 1986
Judas Priest InterviewKrokus Discography*White, Carrie; "Valley designer's costumes for rock 'n' roll's elite has put him A Cut Above", ''Arizona Tribune Newspapers'', Thursday 17 April 1997,
Wedding Fashions, Mother Of The Groom Wedding Fashions
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Brown, Ray
Australian fashion designers
Living people
1959 births