A brocade ensemble designed by The Fool, 1967

The Fool were a Dutch design collective led by Marijke Koger and Simon Posthuma, best known for their work with the Beatles, which included designing the tunics the band wore for their 1967 television broadcast of All You Need Is Love, decorating John Lennon's piano and George Harrison's Mini, painting a circular mural at the Harrisons' Surrey home Kinfauns, designing the inner sleeve of the Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band LP and, most famously, painting a three-story psychedelic mural on the facade of the Beatles' short lived Apple Boutique in London's Baker Street, which was subsequently painted over by order of the local council. Pattie Boyd and her sister Jenny were fans of the collective and would model their clothing designs for the Apple Boutique. According to Boyd, this brocade ensemble was custom made for her by The Fool and she recalls wearing it during a trip to Greece with all four Beatles in July 1967 to explore the possibility of buying a set of Greek islands.

Pattie Boyd: The focal point of our [Kinfauns] sitting room was a huge circular brick fireplace inspired by Salvador Dali, whose work we liked, and we asked a Dutch couple, Simon Posthuma and Marijke Roger, known as The Fool, to paint it for us. They were talented, creative people, who wore outfits they had designed and made in velvet, richly decorated with beads and sequins. We must have got to know them through Robert Fraser, who owned an art gallery in Duke Street, or John Dunbar, Marianne Faithfull’s ex-husband who ran the Indica Gallery in Masons Court, St. James’s. They made amazing clothes for us all, and later for the Apple shop in Baker Street, which they also designed. On the night before the opening they took a bunch of art students to paint psychedelic murals on the outside of the building.
Wonderful Tonight, 2007.