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{{Short description|Ukrainian-American tailor and fashion designer (1902–1984)}}

[[Image:Gram_parsons.jpg|thumb|[[Gram Parsons]] wearing a "Nudie Suit"]]

{{Infobox fashion designer

|name = Nudie Cohn

|image = NudieCohn.png

|alt = headshot of Nudie Cohn as an older man in a cowboy hat

|caption = Cohn in 1969.

|birth_name = Nuta Kotlyarenko

|birth_date = December 15, 1902

|birth_place = [[Kiev]], [[Russian Empire]]

|death_date = {{Death date and age|1984|05|09|1902|12|15|mf=yes}}

|death_place = [[Burbank, California]]

|death_cause =

|resting_place =

|nationality = [[United States|American]]

|other_names =

|education =

|label_name = Nudie's Rodeo Tailors

|awards =

|known_for = Nudie Suits

|occupation = Fashion designer

|spouse =

|partner =

|children =

|parents =

|relatives =

}}

'''Nuta Kotlyarenko''' ({{langx|uk|Нута Котляренко}}; December 15, 1902 – May 9, 1984), known professionally as '''Nudie Cohn''', was a Ukrainian-American [[tailor]] who designed decorative [[rhinestone]]-covered suits, known popularly as "Nudie Suits", and other elaborate outfits for some of the most famous celebrities of his era.<ref name=rhinestone>{{cite news |first=Chris|last=Dixon |title=A Rhinestone Cowboy Who Grabbed Cars by the Horns |url= https://www.nytimes.com/2005/09/04/automobiles/04AUTO.html|newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |date=September 4, 2005 |access-date=March 22, 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last2=Nudie |first2=Jamie Lee |first1=Mary Lynn |last1=Cabrall |title=Nudie: the Rodeo tailor |year=2004 |publisher=Gibbs Smith |isbn=9781586853815 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=PpYOhg1qrJQC&q=nudie+cohn&pg=PA10 |access-date=March 22, 2018}}</ref> He also became famous for his outrageous customized automobiles.<ref name="Grdn">{{cite news |last1=Robinson |first1=John |title=Naked talent |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2004/feb/28/popandrock.gramparsons |access-date=24 August 2022 |work=The Guardian |date=28 February 2004}}</ref>

'''Nudie Cohn''' ([[1902]] - [[1984]]) was an [[United States|American]] tailor, known for designing rhinestone-covered outfits to be worn by celebrities.

==Early life==

Cohn was born in [[Kiev]] as Nuta Kotlyarenko and moved to [[New York]] as a child. Initially moving to [[California]] to become a [[boxing|boxer]], he instead worked as an [[Extra (actor)|extra]] and a [[costume]] designer. He moved to [[Minnesota]] for a while, marrying in [[1934]]. Cohn and his wife Bobbie moved to [[New York]], where they opened their first store, Nudie's for the Ladies, which specialized in customized [[underwear]] for [[Showgirl|showgirls]].

Kotlyarenko was born in [[Kiev]] on December 15, 1902, to a [[Jewish]] family.<ref>{{cite web|title=Meet the Man Who Dressed Dolly Parton |url= http://www.messynessychic.com/2015/05/14/the-rhinestone-cowboy-king-a-retrospective-of-dolly-partons-favourite-tailor/ |website=Messynessychic.com |date=May 14, 2015 |access-date=22 March 2018}}</ref> To escape the [[Pogroms in Ukraine|pogroms]] of [[Russian Empire|Czarist Russia]], his parents sent him, at age 11 with his brother Julius, to America. For a time, he criss-crossed the country, working as a shoeshine boy and later a boxer. He later claimed associating with gangster [[Pretty Boy Floyd]].<ref name=rhinestone/> While living in a boardinghouse in [[Mankato, Minnesota]], he met [[Helen Barbara Kruger|Helen "Bobbie" Kruger]], and married her in 1934. In the midst of the [[Great Depression]], the newlyweds moved to New York City and opened their first store, "Nudie's for the Ladies", specializing in custom-made [[undergarment]]s for [[showgirl]]s.<ref name=rhinestone/><ref name="Grdn"/>

==Clothing business==

Nudie returned to California in [[1947]], where he talked bandleader [[Tex Williams]] into auctioning off a horse to purchase him a [[sewing machine]]. Opening a store in [[North Hollywood]], Nudie began designing western-wear notable for its ostentatiousness, including extensive use of [[rhinestone|rhinestones]] and themed-[[applique|appliques]]. One of his early designs, for singer [[Porter Wagoner]], was a peach-colored suit featuring rhinestones, a [[covered wagon]] applique on the back, and wagon wheel piping on the legs. Nudie offered the suit to Wagoner for free, suspecting that having his suit worn by a popular singer would act, in effect, as as a [[Billboard (advertising)|billboard]] for Nudie's designs. Cohn eventually dubbed his business "Nudie's of Hollywood."

[[File:Porter wagoner 1999.jpg|thumb|upright|Porter Wagoner performing at the [[Grand Ole Opry]] in a Nudie suit, 1999]]

[[File:Country Music Hall of Fame (5981921715).jpg|thumb|upright|Gram Parsons' Nudie suit, on display at the [[Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum|Country Music Hall of Fame]]]]

Cohn and Kruger relocated to California in the early 1940s, and began designing and manufacturing clothing in their garage. In 1947, Cohn persuaded young, struggling country singer [[Tex Williams]] to buy him a sewing machine with the proceeds from auctioning off a horse.<ref name="Grdn"/> In exchange, Cohn made clothing for Williams.<ref name=rhinestone/> As their creations gained a following, the Cohns opened "Nudie's of Hollywood" on the corner of Victory Blvd and Vineland Ave in [[North Hollywood, Los Angeles|North Hollywood]], dealing exclusively in [[Western wear]], a style much in fashion at the time.

Nudie Cohn relentlessly publicized himself. He is reported to have driven to poorer sections of town and distributed dollar bills with a [[sticker]] of his face over Washington's. "When you get sick of looking at me," he'd say, "just rip it off and spend it." Nudie also cusomized 18 [[Cadillac]] [[convertibles]] with typical Nudie icons, such a silver-dollar-studded dashboards, [[pistol]] door handles, and [[Longhorn cattle|longhorn steer]] horns. These were called "Nudie Mobiles," and have become valued collector's items.

Cohn's designs brought the already-flamboyant Western style to a new level of ostentation with the liberal use of rhinestones and themed images in [[chain stitch]] [[embroidery]].<ref name="Grdn"/> One of his early designs, in 1962, for singer [[Porter Wagoner]], was a peach-colored suit featuring rhinestones, a covered wagon on the back, and wagon wheels on the legs. He offered the suit to Wagoner for free, confident that the popular performer would serve as a [[billboard (advertising)|billboard]] for his clothing line.<ref name="Grdn"/> His confidence proved justified, and the business grew rapidly. In 1963, the Cohns relocated their business to a larger facility on Lankershim Boulevard in North Hollywood and renamed it "Nudie's Rodeo Tailors".<ref name=rhinestone/>

Many of Nudie Cohn's designs became signature suits for their wearers. Included among Nudie's most famous creations are [[Elvis Presley]]'s $10,000 gold lamé suit, which the singer wore on the cover of his ''[[50,000,000 Elvis Fans Can't Be Wrong]]'' album. Nudie also designed for [[Hank Williams]]' white cowboy suit featuring [[musical notation]] on the sleeves and [[Gram Parson]]s "Gilded Palace of Sin" suit, which featured pill bottles, [[marijuana|pot]] leaves, naked women, and a huge cross. Many of [[Roy Rogers]]' film costumes were also commissioned from Nudie's of Hollywood.

Many of Cohn's designs became signature looks for their owners. Among his most famous creations was [[Elvis Presley]]'s $10,000 gold [[lamé (fabric)|lamé]] suit<ref name="Grdn"/> worn by the singer on the cover of his ''[[50,000,000 Elvis Fans Can't Be Wrong]]'' album.<ref>{{cite book|last=Beard |first=Tyler |page=72 |title=100 years of Western wear |year=2001|publisher=Gibbs-Smith |isbn=9780879055912 |edition=Revised }}</ref> Cohn created [[Hank Williams]]' white cowboy suit with musical notations on the sleeves, and [[Gram Parsons]]' infamous suit for the cover of the [[Flying Burrito Brothers]]' 1969 album ''[[The Gilded Palace of Sin]]'', featuring pills, [[opium poppy|poppies]], marijuana leaves, naked women, and a huge cross.<ref name = "salvedge"/><ref name="Grdn"/> He designed the iconic costume worn by [[Robert Redford]] in the 1979 film ''[[Electric Horseman]]'', which was exhibited by the [[National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum]] in [[Oklahoma City]].<ref>{{cite web|url= http://newsok.com/gallery/articleid/3363096/pictures/560233?hideNav=true&dontTrackPage=falsee |title=National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum acquires iconic suit|website=NewsOK.com |date=September 28, 2010 |access-date=22 March 2018|url-status=}}{{deadlink|date=September 2023}}</ref>

Nudie's enormous [[Van Nuys]] lot, opened in [[1963]], remained open until [[1994]].

Many of the film costumes worn by [[Roy Rogers]] and [[Dale Evans]] were Nudie's designs.<ref name=rhinestone/> [[John Lennon]] was a customer, as were [[John Wayne]], [[Gene Autry]], [[George Jones]], [[Cher]], [[Ronald Reagan]], [[Elton John]], [[Robert Mitchum]], [[Pat Buttram]], [[Tony Curtis]], [[Michael Landon]], [[Glen Campbell]], [[Michael Nesmith]], [[Hank Snow]], [[Hank Thompson (musician)|Hank Thompson]], and numerous musical groups, notably [[America (band)|America]] and [[Chicago (band)|Chicago]].<ref name=salvedge/> [[ZZ Top]] band members [[Billy Gibbons]] and [[Dusty Hill]] sported Nudie suits on the cover photo of their 1975 album ''[[Fandango!]]''.

Nudie Cohn was also a well-regarded [[mandolin]] player, and released an album of country and popular standards on which he was backed up by such country greats as [[Dusty Rhodes]] and Tex Williams.

In 2006, Porter Wagoner said he had accumulated 52 Nudie suits, costing between $11,000 and $18,000 each, since receiving his first free outfit in 1962.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.broadwaytovegas.com/May17,2009.html |title=Broadway To Vegas |last=Deni |first=Laura |date=2009-05-17 |access-date=2010-08-26 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100131182708/http://www.broadwaytovegas.com/May17,2009.html |archive-date=January 31, 2010 }}</ref> Belgian entertainer [[Bobbejaan Schoepen]] was a client and personal friend; his collection of 35 complete stage outfits is the largest in Europe.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.bobbejaan.be/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111004160049/http://www.bobbejaan.be/actueel/ontwerpen-van-nudie-cohn-de-rodeo-tailor|url-status=dead|title=Actueel|archive-date=October 4, 2011|website=Bobbejaan.be}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://tmagazine.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/10/26/cowboy-couture-nudie-cohn-at-momu/|title=Cowboy Couture &#124; Nudie Cohn at Mode Museum|first=Nancy|last=MacDonell|date=October 26, 2011}}</ref><ref>''DREAMSUITS. The Wonderful World of Nudie Cohn'', Mairi MacKenzie. Publisher Lannoo, 2011.</ref>

One of Nudie's protegees, Manuel Cuevas, now runs the similarly flamboyant Manuel Exclusive Clothier.

Cuevas was responsible for designing [[Johnny Cash]]'s black suits, the [[Beatle]]'s uniforms for ''[[Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band]]'', the roses and skeletons insignia of the [[Grateful Dead]], and designed an inflated lips [[pillow]] for [[Mick Jagger]] that designer John Pasche modified into the logo for the [[Rolling Stones]].

Cohn strutted around town in his own outrageous suits and rhinestone-studded cowboy hats. His sartorial trademark was mismatched boots, which he wore, he said, to remember his humble beginnings in the 1930s, when he could not afford a matching pair of shoes.<ref name=Nudie>{{Cite web|url=http://www.nudiesrodeotailor.com/bio_01.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110823030414/http://www.nudiesrodeotailor.com/bio_01.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=August 23, 2011|title=Nudies Rodeo Tailors official website of Nudies suits|date=August 23, 2011}}</ref> He shamelessly promoted himself and his products throughout his career. According to his granddaughter, Jamie Lee Nudie (who changed her last name to her grandfather's first name), he would often pay for items with dollar bills sporting a sticker of his face covering George Washington's. "When you get sick of looking at me," he would say, "just rip [the sticker] off and spend it."<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://archive.signalscv.com/archives/1812/|title=The past returns on Mother's Day|website=Archive.signalscv.com}}</ref>

== External links ==

*[http://www.nudiesrodeotailor.com/ Nudie's Rodeo Tailors official site]

*[http://nytimes.com/2005/09/04/automobiles/04AUTO.html?pagewanted=all A Rhinestone Cowboy Who Grabbed Cars by the Horns - NY Times]

==Automobiles==

[[Category:1902 births|Cohn, Nudie]]

Cohn was equally famous for his garishly decorated automobiles.<ref name="Grdn"/> Between 1950 and 1975, he customized 18 vehicles, mostly white [[Pontiac Bonneville]] convertibles, with silver dollar-studded dashboards, [[handgun|pistol]] door handles and gearshifts, extended rear bumpers, and enormous [[Texas Longhorn (cattle)|Longhorn steer]]-horn hood ornaments. They were nicknamed "[[Nudie Mobiles]]", and the nine surviving cars have become valued collector's items.<ref name=rhinestone/><ref name = "salvedge">{{Cite news|url=https://selvedgeyard.com/2009/12/22/nudie-cohn-rhinestone-cowboy/|title=NUDIE COHN &#124; RHINESTONE COWBOY|newspaper=The Selvedge Yard |date=December 22, 2009}}</ref> A Bonneville convertible designed for country singer [[Webb Pierce]] is on display at the [[Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum]] in [[Nashville, Tennessee]]. A [[Pontiac Grand Ville]] convertible customized by Nudie can be seen at the end of the 1988 [[Buck Owens]]/[[Dwight Yoakam]] music video, "The Streets of Bakersfield". That same car—which Owens's manager claims was originally built for Elvis Presley<ref name=rhinestone/>—now hangs over the bar inside Buck Owens's Crystal Palace in [[Bakersfield, California]]. Two Nudie Mobiles owned by Schoepen remain on display at [[Bobbejaanland]], a Western-themed amusement park near [[Antwerp]].<ref name=rhinestone/><ref>Schoepen, T. ''Bobbejaan'' (The Ultimate Book of his Life and Work). Belgium, Uitgeverij Kannibaal, 2011.</ref>

[[Category:1984 deaths|Cohn, Nudie]]

[[Category:American fashion designers|Cohn, Nudie]]

==Death and legacy==

Nudie Cohn died in 1984 at the age of 81. Numerous celebrities and long-time customers attended his funeral.<ref name="Grdn"/> The eulogy was delivered by Dale Evans.<ref name = Nudie/> Nudie's Rodeo Tailors remained open for an additional 10 years under the ownership of Nudie's widow Bobbie and granddaughter Jamie, but closed in 1994 when Bobbie retired.<ref name = Nudie/>

In 2015, Nudie's granddaughter Jamie reopened his shop, leading to a revival of Nudie suits among celebrities during the late 2010s and early 2020s.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.nudiesrodeotailor.com/new-page-1|title=History|website=Nudiesrodeotailor.com|access-date=August 5, 2025}}</ref> The new generation of clients include rappers [[Lil Nas X]], [[Diplo]] and [[Post Malone]],<ref>{{cite news |title=From Roy Rogers to Lil Nas X: The Wild Western Story of Nudie Suits |website=[[The Wall Street Journal]] |date=9 September 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230517041424/https://www.wsj.com/articles/from-roy-rogers-to-lil-nas-x-the-wild-western-story-of-nudie-suits-11568047012 |archive-date=2023-05-17 |url-status=live |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/from-roy-rogers-to-lil-nas-x-the-wild-western-story-of-nudie-suits-11568047012 |last1=Gallagher |first1=Jacob }}</ref> pop stars [[Kesha]], [[Harry Styles]], [[Jenny Lewis]], and [[Taylor Swift]], and lead singer [[Brandon Flowers]] of [[The Killers]], who favored black suits similar to those worn by [[Marty Stuart]] and the late [[Johnny Cash]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://people.com/parents/post-malone-says-baby-daughter-way-cooler-than-him-but-took-inspiration-from-me/|title=Post Malone Says Baby Daughter 'Way Cooler' Than Him, But She 'Took a Little Inspiration from Me'|website=People.com|access-date=August 5, 2025}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Rocker sparks backlash by calling out Josh Homme |website=[[The New Zealand Herald]] |date=11 December 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230109180245/https://www.nzherald.co.nz/entertainment/why-photographers-are-hating-on-the-killers-front-man-brandon-flowers/EBXXX2DI7V2CJFDMTMMZSAPQQY/ |archive-date=2023-01-09 |url-status=live |url=https://www.nzherald.co.nz/entertainment/why-photographers-are-hating-on-the-killers-front-man-brandon-flowers/EBXXX2DI7V2CJFDMTMMZSAPQQY/}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.billboard.com/music/features/nudie-suits-fashion-comeback-history-gram-parsons-tex-williams-7341658/|title=Rhinestone Cowboys: The Embroidered Suits Once Rocked By Johnny Cash and Gram Parsons Are Making a High-Fashion Comeback|first=Shannon|last=Adducci|website=Billboard.com|date=April 22, 2016|access-date=August 5, 2025}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.gq.com/story/nudie-suit-legacy|title=The Battle for the Heart of the Great American Nudie Suit|first=Rachel|last=Tashjian|date=Apr 19, 2019|website=Gq.com|access-date=Aug 5, 2025}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Power suits and petal power in full bloom on the Grammys 2018 red carpet |date=2018-01-29 |website=[[Los Angeles Times]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230113002427/https://www.latimes.com/fashion/la-et-ig-grammys-fashion-20180128-story.html |archive-date=2023-01-13 |url-status=live |url=https://www.latimes.com/fashion/la-et-ig-grammys-fashion-20180128-story.html}}</ref>

{{US-bio-stub}}

Cohn's creations, particularly those with celebrity provenance, remain popular with country-western and show-business collectors, and continue to command high prices when they come on the market. In December 2009, for example, a white Nudie stage shirt owned by Roy Rogers, decorated with blue tassels and red musical notes, sold for $16,250 at a [[Christie's]] auction.<ref>Lot 14, Sale 2276 (December 3, 2009). [http://www.christies.com/lotfinder/lot_details.aspx?from=salesummary&intObjectID=5272988&sid=a313710a-e0b2-4612-abb4-9a7ef3fd5f0d Christies.com.] Retrieved 2010-09-28.</ref> A Nudie shirt worn by [[Johnny Cash]] as grand marshal of the 1976 American Bicentennial Grand Parade in Washington, D.C., and in several subsequent stage performances, sold at auction for $25,000 in 2010.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.julienslive.com/view-auctions/catalog/id/15/lot/3115/JOHNNY-CASH-BICENTENNIAL-SHIRT|title=JOHNNY CASH BICENTENNIAL SHIRT - Current price: $20000|website=Julienslive.com}}</ref><ref>Halloran, R. "500,000 View Capital's Bicentennial Parade". ''New York Times,'' July 4, 1976.</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=2005-09-04 |title=A Rhinestone Cowboy Who Grabbed Cars by the Horns (Published 2005) |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2005/09/04/automobiles/a-rhinestone-cowboy-who-grabbed-cars-by-the-horns.html |access-date=2025-08-18 |language=en}}</ref>

Cohn is fictionalized in Derek McCormack's 2003 novella ''The Haunted Hillbilly''.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Wershler-Henry|first1=Darren|title=The Haunted Hillbilly|url=https://quillandquire.com/review/the-haunted-hillbilly/|website=Quill and Quire|date=29 October 2003 |publisher=St. Joseph Media|access-date=21 March 2018}}</ref>

==See also==

{{Portal|Biography}}

*[[Manuel Cuevas]]

==References==

{{reflist}}

== External links ==

{{Commons category|Nudie Cohn}}

* [http://www.nudiesrodeotailor.com/ Nudie's Rodeo Tailors official site]

* ''[https://web.archive.org/web/20081003015931/http://www.showstudio.com/projects/nud/nud_start.html Made in Hollywood: A Tribute to Nudie]''—Fashion film featuring Nicky Panicci

* [http://autry.iii.com/search/o=ocn368646546 Nudie's Rodeo Tailors Archive at the Autry National Center]

* {{Find a Grave|2045}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cohn, Nudie}}

[[Category:1902 births|Cohn, Nudie]]

[[Category:1950s fashion]]

[[Category:1960s fashion]]

[[Category:1984 deaths|Cohn, Nudie]]

[[Category:American fashion designers|Cohn, Nudie]]

[[Category:American people of Ukrainian-Jewish descent]]

[[Category:Burials at Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Hollywood Hills)]]

[[Category:Emigrants from the Russian Empire to the United States]]

[[Category:Jewish fashion designers]]

[[Category:Ukrainian fashion designers]]

[[Category:Ukrainian Jews]]