Peter Golding

Peter Golding FCSD created the first ‘designer jean’ in 1970, opened clothing store ACE on King’s Road in 1974 and created the world’s first stretch denim jean in the late 1978. He was the first fashion designer to be invited to join what is now known as the Chartered Society of Designers, and in 2004 was invited by The Queen to Buckingham Palace in recognition of his contribution to British design.

He has been described by Fashion Weekly as "the Eric Clapton of denim" [Roger Tredre, "Fashion Weekly", February 16, 1989] .

Beginnings and the Beat Hotel, Paris

Golding came from an academic family background, and became a management trainee and production manager in his teenage years. An early trip to Paris saw him busk in the streets on blues harp and guitar, and take up residence at the infamous No. 9 Git le Coeur, later known as the Beat Hotel, a renowned hangout of anglo-american beat artist and performers. Peter features in books on the beat generation by Harold Chapman (The Beat Hotel, 1984) and Mike Evans (The Beats: From Kerouac to Kesey, an Illustrated Journey Through the Beat Generation).

Leaving Paris, Golding set out on a 20,000 kilometre journey with friend Michael Kay on Lambretta Scooters. They travelled overland to Jerusalem via Athens, where they appeared as extras in the Jayne Mansfield film "It Happened in Athens", then on through the middle east, appearing on television in Beirut and radio on Radio Jordan, before returning to London in the early-Sixties.

Fashion Design and Consultancy

On his return Golding worked for the Rael-Brook shirt company as a designer, combining his technical experience with his artistic background, before setting up one of the first professional fashion design consultancies in 1964, with offices in Old Burlington Street, then Savile Row. He attracted international clients such as Viyella International, Phillips-Van Heusen, and the International Institute for Cotton, the International Wool Secretariat, ICI (UK), Fabwerke Hoechst AG (Germany) and Hystron Fibers Inc (USA), McGregor-Doniger (USA), Barracuta (UK) among others.

A series of ‘firsts’ followed. The introduction of the ‘Peter Golding’ label was with the first madras cotton shirts from India (sourced while travelling in India and Nepal) sold through the early boutiques - Just Men, John Michael and the Westerner (all owned by John Stephen) and George Best's boutique, with celebrity customers including the Beatles; The International Wool Secretariat promoted his designs for the first mens unconstructed clothing collection using double knit-wool jersey and also for Project Adam, chaired by Stirling Moss for the advancement of ergonomic clothing; and in 1970 a commission by Falmer to create the first designer jeanswear brand: ‘Peter Golding for Falmer’.

This successful line was followed in 1973 by the first bleached denim jeanswear under his own label, distributed by Jean Machine and Mayfair fashions and exported to the USA through distributor Britannia, thus introducing bleached denim to America.

Peter was a visiting lecturer at the Royal College of Arts, and was invited to join the Society of Industrial Artists and Designers.

Ace

In 1974, Golding opened his flagship store, ACE, in London’s King’s Road, with sculptures by Andrew Logan and an interior described by European Fashion Guide as “glittering”:

‘This may be the “hottest” store in the world. There is nothing inside here that does not glitter: the jeans, the shirts, the walls and the people. The black walls shine under silver lights, music plays continuously, and there’s no telling what stars may pop in - Liza Minnelli, Rod Stewart, Bianca Jagger or the Rolling Stones’.(Alan Flusser - European Fashion Guide USA 1977)

Pop culture historian Paul Gorman describes the store’s brand of celebrity and music-led style in his book "The Look: Adventures in Rock & Pop Fashion":

“Golding’s glitzy clothes were typified by those who frequented Johnny Gold’s Tramp nightclub in Mayfair: slashed-neck leapordskin-print tops, tight velvet pants, stretch jeans, sparkled t-shirts and dresses with slits up the sides”

Regular clients included The Rolling Stones, Britt Ekland, Twiggy, Cilla Black, David Niven, Mary Quant, the Princess of Wales, Joan Collins, David Bowie, Ava Gardner, Marlon Brando, Bryan Ferry, Dudley Moore, Richard Burton, Adam Ant, Ossie Clark, Julie Christie, Jerry Hall, Jack Nicholson,Ringo Starr, Liza Minelli, Amanda Lear, Zandra Rhodes, and Cher. The store is mentioned in Bill Wyman’s Rolling with the Stones in an anecdote where Keith attempts to try on Peter Golding stretch jeans, but instead takes several pairs on spec.

When the store closed in 1984 an advertisement was taken out in Ritz magazine to thank the celebrity clientele - the "lords and ladies of the night" which has become known as the "Ace Goodbyes".

Stretch Denim

The ACE store was the platform from which Golding created and launched the first stretch denim jeans in 1978.

Design development and early production began in the mid 70s, a response to the changing profile of the average jeans wearer. Golding found the solution to the demand for close-fitting jeans in a Japanese stretch indigo denim fabric (96% cotton 4% spandex) and later a sateen stretch fabric in plain dyed colours (98% cotton 2% spandex).

The original product was launched in the UK through the ACE store and other outlets, but was swiftly marketed to the USA with great success, stocked in Fred Seagal and Bloomingdales, and worn by LA's music fraternity: Stray Cats, Jeff Beck, Guns'n'Roses, Fleetwood Mac, Madonna, Darryl Hall and John Oates, Van Halen, Gloria Estefan, Janet Jackson, Steve Miller and others. Distinctive cuts included the Rock Fit, Chelsea Cut, 2-way Cut and Original Stretch.

Production of the stretch jean required an in-depth study of the performance of the fabric - namely shrinkage and stretchability and fit. The Peter Golding brand remained dedicated to the design and technology of stretch denim right through the eighties and nineties, when the brand expanded the range to include numerous jean fits, skirts, and jackets.

Rock Art Collection

Peter Golding is also known for his unique collection of Rock and Roll Art collection – [http://www.inspirationaltimes.co.uk/ Inspirational Times] .

The collection had its beginnings at a “happening” in Hyde Park in 1967, when Golding picked up a hand-drawn poster from the ground, and has grown to be one of the most comprehensive collections of its kind. It includes drawings, studies, finished artwork and paintings. Golding was a major lender of items to the popular Tate Liverpool exhibition: ‘Summer of Love’ in 2005, which then went on to important museums in Germany and Austria in 2006, followed by summer exhibition at the Whitney in New York in 2007.

The collection includes works by Nigel Waymouth and Michael English, Victor Moscoso, Stanley Mouse and Alton Kelly, and artworks commissioned for bands and performers such as: The Grateful Dead, Jimi Hendrix, Bob Dylan, Pink Floyd, The Doors, Jefferson Airplane, Eric Clapton, The Sex Pistols, The Who, Alice Cooper, Sly and the Family Stone, Ike and Tina Turner, Metallica and Guns and Roses.

The collection includes extensive work by the late Rick Griffin, considered the ‘grand master’ of this art form, including his most famous painting: ‘The Flying Eyeball’. The poster was originally commissioned for Graham’s Fillmore Auditorium 1968 concerts featuring Jimi Hendrix, John Mayall and Albert King, and the piece is considered one of the most perfectly executed works of psychedelic art from during the Fillmore era.

An exhibition of the work was held in London in 2003, courtesy of Sotheby's Olympia. A celebrity crowd, including the Marquis of Bath, Jeff Beck, Noel Gallagher, and Jimmy Page attended the opening.

The collection will go on sale at [http://www.bonhams.com/golding/ Bonhams] in New York on 14 May 2008, with a preview tour of the United States in April.

Music

Peter Golding is an avid musician, dedicated to blues and jazz and playing harmonica, guitar and piano.

His influences have strong roots in the USA, and Golding enjoys jamming and performing there: on R & B cruises around the Caribbean, or performing with friends like Slim Jim Phantom of The Stray Cats at his ‘Cat Club’ on Hollywood’s Sunset Strip. Golding, with his band the Ace All-Stars, hosted the Valentine's Ball charity event at the Royal Albert Hall in 1988, playing with Mick Jagger’s brother Chris.

He recorded his 1997 album “Stretching The Blues” with eminent blues musicians, including Otis Grand, Doris Troy and Slim Jim Phantom, and released it with a fashion and live music and fashion extravaganza at the Café de Paris London. The crowd included close friends, the fashion industry, Larry Adler, the Marquis of Bath, Kid Creole and Leo Sayer.

Golding was invited by the Adler family to play harmonica at the tribute to Larry Adler concert in 2001, joining Sir George Martin, Ned Sherrin and Issy Van Renwick.

He presented a ‘Talking Jazz & Blues’ series at London’s Chelsea Arts Club including his own lecture, ‘75 year of the glorious Blues Harmonica’.

Golding’s own jump-blues band "PG & The T-Bones" continue to perform at the Chelsea Arts Club and other London venues, as well as his gypsy-jazz band Cafe Django, featuring his Hot Harmonica Swingtime.

Notes

Bibliography

*Gorman, P (2006) "The Look: Adventures in Rock and Pop Fashion" London:Adelita Ltd
*Wyman, B () "Rolling with the Stones" ISBN 0-7513-4646-2.
* Mike Evans (2007) "The Beats: From Kerouac to Kesey, an Illustrated Journey Through the Beat Generation" New York: Running Press Book Publishers
* Harold Chapman ( 1984) "The Beat Hotel" Paris: Editeur banal gris

External links

* [http://www.petergolding.com/ Peter Golding Jeanswear]
* [http://www.inspirationaltimes.co.uk/ Inspirational Times Rock Art Collection]
* [http://www.myspace.com/stretchintheblues Stretching The Blues album]