Jimmy Page Reveals the Clothes That Survived His Led Zeppelin Days
Jimmy Page’s clothes have a theme. When the former Led Zeppelin guitarist makes public appearances, he tends to wear dark pants, dark shirts, a black leather jacket, and a scarf. However, his stage outfits became more daring and dazzling in the band’s heyday as their career stretched on. Page’s wardrobes from the 1970s have all but disappeared, but one piece of clothing not only survived but looks brand new.
Jimmy Page’s Led Zeppelin clothes died with the band, but his dragon jumpsuit survived
Led Zeppelin emerged in late 1968, and the clothes Page and his bandmates wore at their first concerts reflected the times. Playing in Denmark in March 1969 (via YouTube), Page channeled the psychedelic 60s with his patterned scarf and oversized, cloak-like white coat. Singer Robert Plant wore flared pants and an almost tuxedo-like shirt, though photos from that period show him, bassist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham in heavily patterned shirts.
Led Zeppelin leaned in a more flamboyant direction as their popularity and the size of their concerts grew.
By 1973, Page’s concert wardrobe included custom-made patterned shirts and suits emblazoned with eye-catching designs. The exotic tour gear helped concert goers sitting up high in the cheap seats in the massive arenas Led Zeppelin frequently played see him.
Most of Page’s clothes went bye-bye when the band broke up, but the guitarist said his red dragon jumpsuit — custom-made for him and worn during the band’s 1975 North American tour — survived.
“It was made by a woman from [Los Angeles] named Coco. I basically outlined what I wanted on it. For example, I asked her to personalize the pants with astrological symbols — Capricorn, Scorpio rising, Cancer. I still have that suit, and the amazing thing about it is that it still looks brand-new, like it just came off the peg. I did a lot of roadwork in that thing, and it’s in wonderful condition. Most of my other clothes ended up in tatters, but the dragon suit still looks great.”
Jimmy Page to Light & Shade (p. 175) author Brad Tolinski
It’s almost a miracle that Page’s red dragon outfit survived the 1970s. Led Zeppelin’s touring pace slowed down at that 1975 excursion, but the guitarist had a limited wardrobe on that tour. He told Tolinksi he typically wore the dragon suit one night and his white suit with red poppies the next. He brought back the black outfit for Zep’s 1977 U.S. tour, their last in North America. For any of Page’s clothes to survive the decade, let alone look nearly brand new years later, is a testament to the skilled hands that made them.
Page wore other iconic outfits at Led Zeppelin concerts
The red dragon and white poppy outfits are probably Page’s two most famous articles of clothing. Still, the guitarist’s clothes became iconic whether or not he meant it to happen.
Page wore a tweed trench coat and bucket hat at the 1970 Bath festival. Led Zeppelin turned down a $250,000 payday but earned far more in the long run as that show delivered a ton of goodwill from English music fans. He broke out a Zoso sweater for concerts in late 1971 as the band incorporated more music from Led Zeppelin IV into their set. Before wearing his dragon outfit starting in 1975, Page wore a black suit with a galactic theme (stars and swirls) during the band’s 1973 shows. When Led Zeppelin ended a two-year concert hiatus at the 1979 Knebworth festival, Page’s clothes switched to business casual as he wore light-colored pants with a striped collared shirt as the band itself got back to business.
Jimmy Page’s modern-day clothes — dark pants, dark shirts, jacket, and scarves — are almost chic. But the black-and-red dragon jumpsuit he wore in his Led Zeppelin days looks brand new and ready to rock if the guitarist needs it.
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