{"meta":{"version":"2.1","_links":{"self":{"href":"https://api.vam.ac.uk/v2/object/O1781746"},"collection_page":{"href":"https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O1781746/"}},"images":{"_primary_thumbnail":"https://framemark.vam.ac.uk/collections/2025PE8963/full/!100,100/0/default.jpg","_iiif_image":"https://framemark.vam.ac.uk/collections/2025PE8963/","_alt_iiif_image":[],"imageResolution":"low","_images_meta":[{"assetRef":"2025PE8963","copyright":"© Victoria and Albert Museum, London","sensitiveImage":false},{"assetRef":"2025PE9008","copyright":"© Victoria and Albert Museum, London","sensitiveImage":false},{"assetRef":"2025PE9007","copyright":"© Victoria and Albert Museum, London","sensitiveImage":false},{"assetRef":"2025PE9006","copyright":"© Victoria and Albert Museum, London","sensitiveImage":false},{"assetRef":"2025PE8971","copyright":"© Victoria and Albert Museum, London","sensitiveImage":false},{"assetRef":"2025PE8970","copyright":"© Victoria and Albert Museum, London","sensitiveImage":false},{"assetRef":"2025PE8964","copyright":"© Victoria and Albert Museum, London","sensitiveImage":false},{"assetRef":"2025PD0279","copyright":"© Victoria and Albert Museum, London","sensitiveImage":false},{"assetRef":"2025PD0276","copyright":"© Victoria and Albert Museum, London","sensitiveImage":false},{"assetRef":"2025PD0278","copyright":"© Victoria and Albert Museum, London","sensitiveImage":false},{"assetRef":"2025PD0277","copyright":"© Victoria and Albert Museum, London","sensitiveImage":false},{"assetRef":"2025PD0281","copyright":"© Victoria and Albert Museum, London","sensitiveImage":false},{"assetRef":"2025PD0280","copyright":"© Victoria and Albert Museum, London","sensitiveImage":false}]},"see_also":null},"record":{"systemNumber":"O1781746","accessionNumber":"LOAN:AMERICASFOUNDATION.1027:1,2-2024","objectType":"Costume","titles":[],"summaryDescription":"","physicalDescription":"A metallic, blue lamé two-piece suit with silver and red lightning bolt patch on the reverse. The jacket has exaggerated shoulders, zip-up front and zip-up sleeves, with a cream satin lining. The trousers have a zip and popper-style button waist fastening and a metallic red and silver waistband.","artistMakerPerson":[{"name":{"text":"Freddie Burretti","id":"AUTH401726"},"association":{"text":"designed and made by","id":"x28674"},"note":""}],"artistMakerOrganisations":[],"artistMakerPeople":[],"materials":[{"text":"lame","id":"AAT249446"},{"text":"satin","id":"AAT132902"},{"text":"cotton","id":"AAT14067"},{"text":"wire","id":"AAT11063"},{"text":"metal","id":"AAT10900"},{"text":"plastic","id":"AAT14570"}],"techniques":[{"text":"machine sewing","id":"AAT257463"},{"text":"hand sewing","id":"AAT257459"}],"materialsAndTechniques":"Machine-sewn and hand-sewn lamé and satin with wire, metal and plastic zips and metal buttons","categories":[{"text":"David Bowie Archive","id":"THES394093"},{"text":"Entertainment and leisure","id":"THES48959"}],"styles":[],"collectionCode":{"text":"T&P","id":"THES48602"},"images":["2025PE8963","2025PE9008","2025PE9007","2025PE9006","2025PE8971","2025PE8970","2025PE8964","2025PD0279","2025PD0276","2025PD0278","2025PD0277","2025PD0281","2025PD0280"],"imageResolution":"low","galleryLocations":[{"current":{"text":"019","id":"THES310034"},"free":"","case":"","shelf":"","box":""},{"current":{"text":"019","id":"THES310034"},"free":"","case":"","shelf":"","box":""}],"partTypes":[[{"text":"Jacket","id":"x40630"}],[{"text":"Trousers","id":"AAT209935"}]],"contentWarnings":[{"apprise":"","note":""}],"placesOfOrigin":[{"place":{"text":"United Kingdom","id":"x32019"},"association":{"text":"designed and made","id":"x39722"},"note":""}],"productionDates":[{"date":{"text":"1973","earliest":"1973-01-01","latest":"1973-12-31"},"association":{"text":"made","id":"x28654"},"note":""}],"associatedObjects":[{"object":{"text":"S.289-2024","id":"O1775054"},"association":""},{"object":{"text":"DBA/5/11/9","id":"ARC258042"},"association":""}],"creditLine":"Lent by the V&A Americas Foundation through the generosity of Jones/Tintoretto Entertainment Company LLC","dimensions":[{"dimension":"Height","value":"71","unit":"cm","qualifier":"","date":{"text":"","earliest":null,"latest":null},"part":"Jacket","note":""},{"dimension":"Width","value":"55.5","unit":"cm","qualifier":"Shoulder to shoulder","date":{"text":"","earliest":null,"latest":null},"part":"Jacket","note":""},{"dimension":"Length","value":"68.5","unit":"cm","qualifier":"Sleeve","date":{"text":"","earliest":null,"latest":null},"part":"Jacket","note":""},{"dimension":"Length","value":"110.4","unit":"cm","qualifier":"","date":{"text":"","earliest":null,"latest":null},"part":"Trousers","note":""},{"dimension":"Width","value":"35","unit":"cm","qualifier":"Waist","date":{"text":"","earliest":null,"latest":null},"part":"Trousers","note":""}],"dimensionsNote":"","marksAndInscriptions":[],"objectHistory":"David Bowie wore this costume May - July 1973, on the final leg of <i>The Ziggy Stardust Tour.</i> Photographs of this can be found in DBA/5/11/9. While this leg was still titled <i>The Ziggy Stardust Tour</i>, Bowie had released the album <i>Aladdin Sane</i> a few months prior in April of 1973, and for this final leg changed the set list to focus on music from the new album. For this reason, this final leg is sometimes referred to as the 'Aladdin Sane' tour. \n\nThe album cover of<i> Aladdin Sane</i> depicted Bowie with the now-iconic red and blue lightning bolt over his eye. It was immediately seen as impactful, daring and intriguing imagery by fans and commentators. Henry Edwards of <i>The New York Times</i> described the cover as \"the most cunning representation to date of this angel-faced, 25-year-old, English composer-performer as a disembodied spirit of the Space Age\". Bowie decided to add a backdrop banner of blue and red lightning bolts in white circles to the set of the tour. Singer Chris Difford later recalled that 'Another friend of mine worked for him, Will [Palin] was his road manager...Will was kind enough to let me help him paint the lighting strike on the stage.'\n\nCostume designer Freddie Burretti created two suits for Bowie to wear with the lightning bolt on the back; this blue one, and a red one (S.289-2024). The shape of these costumes followed on from similar two-piece costumes with exaggerated shoulders that Burretti had already designed for Bowie earlier in the tour. The costumes cemented the lightning bolt as an iconic and immediately recognisable Bowie symbol.  Photographs in DBA/5/11/14 suggest there was also originally a white version of this costume with a red lightning bolt; the whereabouts of this white costume are unknown. ","historicalContext":"","briefDescription":"Costume designed by Freddie Burretti for David Bowie on the <i>Ziggy Stardust</i> live tour, 1973","bibliographicReferences":[],"production":"","productionType":{"text":"","id":""},"contentDescription":"","contentPlaces":[],"associatedPlaces":[],"contentPerson":[],"associatedPerson":[],"contentOrganisations":[],"associatedOrganisations":[],"contentPeople":[],"associatedPeople":[],"contentEvents":[],"associatedEvents":[{"text":"Concert tour: The Ziggy Stardust Tour (29 January 1972 - 3 July 1973)","id":"AUTH401669"},{"text":"Aladdin Sane","id":"AUTH401593"}],"contentOthers":[],"contentConcepts":[],"contentLiteraryRefs":[],"galleryLabels":[],"partNumbers":["LOAN:AMERICASFOUNDATION.1027:1-2024","LOAN:AMERICASFOUNDATION.1027:2-2024"],"accessionNumberNum":"1027","accessionNumberPrefix":"LOAN:AMERICASFOUNDATION","accessionYear":2024,"otherNumbers":[{"type":{"text":"David Bowie Archive Number","id":"THES394108"},"number":"1973.2035.0029"}],"copyNumber":"","aspects":["WHOLE"],"assets":[],"recordModificationDate":"2026-04-23","recordCreationDate":"2024-06-11","availableToBook":false}}