Malcolm Hall (born Malcolm Halter, on 14 December 1947), is a British fashion designer, known for his flamboyant, tailored suits in velvets, satins, silks and brocades.
Launched in 1972, the Malcolm Hall label quickly gained a celebrity following.[1]
Malcolm Hall suits were worn by ABBA, according to Simon Sheridan's The Complete ABBA.[2]
The Retro Gallery at MalcolmHall.net displays photographs of rock musicians wearing Malcolm Hall clothes as shown in the table.[3]
| jackets; with guitar ca 1974; and 'Wings era' singing into microphone | ||
| suit ca 1974 | ||
| jacket ca 1973 singing into microphone | ||
| white suit | ||
| white suit at the Riot House Hollywood; and another ca 1972 | ||
| white suits with a baggage trolley at Waterloo station | ||
| gold suit; playing the fiddle | ||
| dark suits; with drum kit on Granada TV show | ||
| white suit; at piano 1975 | ||
| "embellished midnight blue velvet jacket" on stand; "sold at auction" | ||
| various suits ca 1974 |
On 17 September 2011, the Malcolm Hall jacket made for Tony Curtis was sold at the Property from the Estate of Tony Curtis auction.[4]
The Manchester Art Gallery's collection theme "Recycled Fashion" explains "Fashion in the early 1970s built on the decorative freedom of the later sixties to produce a riot of vibrantly patterned extravagant clothing for both men and women...English designers like ... Malcolm Hall ... produced superbly tailored and yet imaginative outfits for their wealthier London male clientele".[5]
The Victoria and Albert Museum's national collection "Theatre Costume" includes a "Painted satin and gold cord" stage costume made by Malcolm Hall for Jimmy Page, the flamboyant guitarist of rock group Led Zeppelin (and donated by Page to the museum); the costume, a suit in ivory-coloured satin, is "known as the 'Egyptian' costume because of the symbols prominent on the back of the satin jacket" – the "Eye of Thoth", "Nut (noot), Goddess of the sky"; a winged disk which "some believe ... is based on the appearance of the sun's corona during a solar eclipse." The museum concludes "the ivory satin costume itself would have been highly eye-catching; Page's wild performance style was reflected in his stage outfits."[6]
As well as his shop in London W1, Malcolm Hall ran a manufacturing operation from his Islington factory, supplying stores worldwide with his ready-to-wear clothes. According to the Malcolm Hall website, the company today still "creates exquisite, rock-inspired, suits in velvets, satins, leathers, silks, denims, and rich brocades, which are shipped internationally."[7]
From 1995 to 2003 Hall collaborated with designers including Catherine Walker on gowns for Princess Diana, Bruce Oldfield and Anouska Hempel.[8]
More recently, Malcolm Hall has been working with private customers in bridal and women's evening wear, as well as relaunching his label with a new rock-inspired collection of suits.[9]
Malcolm Hall serves as expert "consultant fashion designer" to tailoring tutors TutorCouture.[10]