Ringmaster outfit worn by Norman Barrett MBE
Costume
ca.2006 (made)
ca.2006 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
This ringmaster's outfit was worn from 2006 to 2014 by Norman Barrett MBE (b.1935), arguably the world's greatest ringmaster. He was brought up around his family's own show and performed his first animal act aged twelve, with a goat and two dogs. He worked professionally in the circus from the age of seventeen, becoming an accomplished equestrian, juggler and budgerigar trainer as well as the man affectionately known in the circus world as 'lord of the ring'. He became a ringmaster for the first time in 1957 for Roberts Brothers' Circus and was the ringmaster for Bertram Mills' last tenting show in 1964, and their last three circuses at Olympia. He is meticulous about his appearance in the ring and regularly has new suits made. He wore this immaculate outfit, with black trousers from a previous suit, to Buckingham Palace in 2006 to receive his MBE from Queen Elizabeth ll. He always wears deliberately mismatched cufflinks in the ring as a good luck charm. In 1990 Norman Barrett was a subject of the television programme This Is Your Life, filmed at the Blackpool Tower Circus. He lives in Blackpool and for many years has worked with a circus in Germany during the winter, and as ringmaster of Zippos Circus in the UK during the summer, also presenting his famous budgie act.
The red jacket is made of barathea, a closely-woven fine English cloth with a slight diagonal weave appearance and broken rib effect that feels smooth to the touch. It is mainly used as a suiting or uniform fabric and can also be used in men's evening clothes. It was made for Norman Barrett by the Italian tailor Gino Garofolo who worked as a tailor in Preston, Lancashire, for forty years from 1970. Based in his Fylde Road shop, he was one of the last tailors in the town making bespoke suits. The shirt is by Wessex who own La Valière, a brand created and established in 1968 in Paris by Ancker Strouck who developed the brand as a sign of quality, its motto being tradition and pride. Wessex supplies men's evening dress wear products to the global market including the Far East, Australia, United States of America, Canada, Europe and many other countries.
The red jacket is made of barathea, a closely-woven fine English cloth with a slight diagonal weave appearance and broken rib effect that feels smooth to the touch. It is mainly used as a suiting or uniform fabric and can also be used in men's evening clothes. It was made for Norman Barrett by the Italian tailor Gino Garofolo who worked as a tailor in Preston, Lancashire, for forty years from 1970. Based in his Fylde Road shop, he was one of the last tailors in the town making bespoke suits. The shirt is by Wessex who own La Valière, a brand created and established in 1968 in Paris by Ancker Strouck who developed the brand as a sign of quality, its motto being tradition and pride. Wessex supplies men's evening dress wear products to the global market including the Far East, Australia, United States of America, Canada, Europe and many other countries.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Parts | This object consists of 11 parts.
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| Titles |
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| Materials and techniques | Wool, cotton, velvet, cotton jersey, cotton, silk plush, silk & petersham, silk grosgrain ribbon, leather, gilt metal, plastic, synthetic textile |
| Brief description | Ringmaster's outfit worn by Norman Barrett MBE (b.1935) from 2006 to 2014, consisting of a red barathea tailcoat, white cotton evening shirt, black velvet waistcoat, white cotton self-tie bow tie, white cotton gloves, deliberately mismatched gold-effect cufflinks, white cotton handkerchief, white carnation and black top hat. |
| Physical description | S.142:1-2018 Ringmaster's red barathea tailcoat made by Gino Garofolo of Preston, with blue revers S.142:2-2018 White cotton evening shirt by La Valière S.142:3-2018 Black velvet waistcoat S.142:4-2018 White cotton self-tie bow tie S.142:5-2018 White cotton jersey glove S.142:6-2018 White cotton jersey glove S.142:7-2018 Gold-effect cufflink, deliberately mismatched with its pair for good luck S.142:8-2018 Gold-effect cufflink, deliberately mismatched with its pair for good luck S.142:9-2018 Black top hat 'Made in England' S.142:10-2018 White cotton hankie S.142:11-2018 White artifical carnation |
| Credit line | Given by Norman Barrett |
| Object history | This outfit was made for Norman Barrett in 2006 and given by him to the museum in 2018. He wrote in an email concerning the gift: 'I still wear the same style of red coat but keep having new ones as my wife and I are conscious that I must look good at all shows and PA appearances. The standard is very important. I want the costume in the V&A to the standard that I am satisfied with.' He enclosed the cufflinks in an envelope inscribed: 'I always wear odd cufflinks. It's a superstition of mine.' |
| Summary | This ringmaster's outfit was worn from 2006 to 2014 by Norman Barrett MBE (b.1935), arguably the world's greatest ringmaster. He was brought up around his family's own show and performed his first animal act aged twelve, with a goat and two dogs. He worked professionally in the circus from the age of seventeen, becoming an accomplished equestrian, juggler and budgerigar trainer as well as the man affectionately known in the circus world as 'lord of the ring'. He became a ringmaster for the first time in 1957 for Roberts Brothers' Circus and was the ringmaster for Bertram Mills' last tenting show in 1964, and their last three circuses at Olympia. He is meticulous about his appearance in the ring and regularly has new suits made. He wore this immaculate outfit, with black trousers from a previous suit, to Buckingham Palace in 2006 to receive his MBE from Queen Elizabeth ll. He always wears deliberately mismatched cufflinks in the ring as a good luck charm. In 1990 Norman Barrett was a subject of the television programme This Is Your Life, filmed at the Blackpool Tower Circus. He lives in Blackpool and for many years has worked with a circus in Germany during the winter, and as ringmaster of Zippos Circus in the UK during the summer, also presenting his famous budgie act. The red jacket is made of barathea, a closely-woven fine English cloth with a slight diagonal weave appearance and broken rib effect that feels smooth to the touch. It is mainly used as a suiting or uniform fabric and can also be used in men's evening clothes. It was made for Norman Barrett by the Italian tailor Gino Garofolo who worked as a tailor in Preston, Lancashire, for forty years from 1970. Based in his Fylde Road shop, he was one of the last tailors in the town making bespoke suits. The shirt is by Wessex who own La Valière, a brand created and established in 1968 in Paris by Ancker Strouck who developed the brand as a sign of quality, its motto being tradition and pride. Wessex supplies men's evening dress wear products to the global market including the Far East, Australia, United States of America, Canada, Europe and many other countries. |
| Associated objects |
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| Collection | |
| Accession number | S.142:1 to 9 -2018 |
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| Record created | April 16, 2018 |
| Record URL |
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