Prince: An important early stage costume, 1983

A full-length stage coat of black grosgrain, adorned with white buttons to lapels, chest and cuffs, no label but likely designed by Louis and Vaughn, the coat worn on stage by Prince during the Benefit Concert for the Minnesota Dance Theatre, First Avenue Nightclub, Minneapolis, Minnesota, August 3, 1983, the concert which saw the debut of Prince's band The Revolution and during which Prince performed Purple Rain live for the first time; with two color still photographs.

This coat was given by Prince to Susannah Melvoin, singer, songwriter and former fiancée of Prince and twin sister of Wendy Melvoin, guitarist with The Revolution from 1983 to 1986. Susannah was co-lead singer with the Prince-produced band, The Family, who had a hit single with "Screams Of Passion" and the original version of "Nothing Compares To You." Susannah also sang backing vocals on Prince's Parade album released in 1986, including the single "Anotherloverholenyohead" and many other Prince songs as his staff singer. Susannah is credited with co-writing "Starfish and Coffee" and is also the subject of Prince's iconic love song, "Nothing Compares To You."

It is well known that all of Prince's clothing and stagewear was custom made. He rarely relied on major designers. Instead, around the time of Purple Rain in 1985, Prince set up his own clothing design shop in a warehouse in Eden Prairie, Minnesota, the precursor to Paisley Park. He brought with him Jim Sherrin, a tailor from the local Guthrie Theater and later Helen Hiatt who worked on Prince's looks for Purple Rain, Sign O' The Times and Lovesexy. When Paisley Park was built in 1987, Prince moved the clothing designers and makers to the complex so that he had a team on hand to bring to life his style ideas. Designer Stacia Lang, who began designing Prince's clothing in 1990, recalls that she would often get instructions from Prince such as "I want something Barbarella meets The Godfather."

The Benefit Concert at which Prince wore this coat saw the debut performance of Prince's new band, The Revolution, with Wendy Melvoin on guitar. Prince and The Revolution performed "Purple Rain" as well as "Let's Go Crazy," "Computer Blue," "Baby I'm a Star," and "I Would Die 4 U." After additional overdubbing done at Sunset Sound in August and September, 1983, this live version of "Purple Rain" as well as "I Would Die 4 U" and "Baby I'm A Star" were released on the Purple Rain album in November of that year. During the final song of the show "D.M.S.R.," Prince has stripped down to a pair of underpants and he wears this coat. Video footage of the concert clearly shows this coat with the missing button as it still appears today. Footage of the concert can be viewed online

First Avenue was an important venue for Prince's early career. Proud of his Minneapolis roots, Prince would road test new material on stage at the club and it became the real-life setting for the Purple Rain movie. In a rare interview for Rolling Stone Magazine in 1985, Prince toured Minneapolis with the interviewer, Neal Karlen, and discussed the importance to him of First Avenue: "Before Purple Rain, all the kids who came to First Avenue knew us, and it was just like a big, fun fashion show. The kids would dress for themselves and just try and look really cool. Once you got your thing right, you'd stop looking at someone else. You'd be yourself and you'd feel comfortable..."

In August 1983, Prince had recently completed his 1999 Tour which ran from November 11, 1982 through to April 10, 1983. With this tour, Prince unveiled his signature look: ruffled white shirt under a purple trench coat with studded shoulder. This coat was immortalized in the video for Purple Rain, released in 1984. The black coat being offered here is an alternate version of that purple coat, with the same grosgrain fabric but without the studded shoulder piece and with a slightly different collar. It is believed that only one of these black versions was made, whereas a handful of the purple coats were made to meet the demanding requirements of the 1999 Tour. Earlier, Prince also sported a grey version around the time of the Dirty Mind LP and Tour in 1980-1981. That coat was immortalized in Allen Beaulieu's photographs at the time, one of which was used on the cover of the Dirty Mind LP. In an interview with Musician in 1983, Prince elaborated on his reason for wearing a trenchcoat: "... if you've got a big coat on, I mean, who knows what he has on. I mean, it was hot out...'"

Literature:
SWENSSON, Andrea Prince: Fashion, Minneapolis: Paisley Park, 2017.
Vogue Magazine, "The Greatest Rock n Roll Closet Of All Time," 2018.
Rolling Stone Magazine, "Prince Talks: The Silence Is Broken," September, 1985.