We take a look at the AIDS quilts commemorating figures from fashion and nightlife whose lives intersected with celebrity, creativity and activism: Tommy Nutter, the Savile Row tailor whose daring cuts and showmanship in the 1970s made his suits a zeitgeist item coveted by a generation — friends and clients included Bianca Jagger, Twiggy, Andrew Lloyd Webber, Elton John, Cilla Black and The Beatles — and whose quilt honours a maker who reshaped menswear.
Nearby is the panel for Peter von Werffelli, the son of a prominent Swiss family and master furrier with ties to Dior. Peters a master furrier himself and now living in London create a range from couture furs to audacious ‘micro’ beach pants; his quilt recalls a craftsman who bridged high fashion and playful saucy style. And there is Ronald Heyfron, better known on stage as Juicy Lucy, a celebrated figure in the 80s London drag scene who appeared in pop videos — including the Frankie Goes to Hollywood iconic ‘Relax’ — and, despite his own AIDS diagnosis, channelled creativity into activism with his ‘Juice’ nights to raise funds for AIDS charities; his quilt is both a memorial and a testament to the community care and defiant joy that sustained so many through the crisis.
All articles and relevant documents from this episode are available on the:
XTRA Tea Blog AIDS: THE LOST VOICES - Behind the Stitches
UK AIDS Quilt Website ---> DONATE HERE <----
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MARKET TAVERN - "JUICE" NIGHT - rare video cam footage
by Alan Cross >>>WATCH HERE YOU TUBE<<<
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Holly Johnson/Frankie Goes to Hollywood:
Holly JohnsonInstagram
'Relax' - Frankie Goes to HollywoodSpotify
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Music / Instrumental by Aries Beats 'A Sin' + WEBSITE
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Third-party media: Used under 'fair use' for the sole purpose of education, criticism and/or research relating to HIV/AIDS, featured in this podcast. No copyright infringement intended -
