Ola Hudson


Ola Hudson was an American-born English fashion designer and costumier. She designed costumes for several famous musicians, including the Pointer Sisters, Diana Ross, Janet Jackson, David Bowie, John Lennon and Ringo Starr, besides being the mother of Saul Hudson a.k.a Slash from Guns N' Roses. Her designs are in the permanent collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Modern Art.

Biography

Hudson was born in Los Angeles, California as Ola Oliver on October 12, 1946. As a young adult, she studied at the Lester Horton School of Modern Dance. She also studied with dancers Bella Lewitzsky and Linda Gold. She then went to study at the Institute of Dance in Paris, at Le Loft in Switzerland and the Max Rivers School in London.
In London, she met and married Anthony Hudson. In 1965, she gave birth to Saul Hudson in England. Her marriage to Anthony was troubled and she moved to Los Angeles, working out of Hollywood. In 1972, she gave birth to Albion. Her family met back up with her in Los Angeles around 1975. When Hudson worked with David Bowie in the mid-1970s, the relationship started out professional, but later they became lovers for a time.
Hudson died on June 5, 2009, after a battle with cancer.

Career

Hudson's design company was named Ola Hudson Enterprises, Incorporated. Hudson also created special collections for Arpeja, Henri Bendel, Right Bank Clothing and Neiman Marcus in Beverly Hills, Maxfield Blu of Los Angeles. Hudson's fashion design was somewhat minimal. She said, "It's getting right down to basics." She was also known for her retro design work, featuring details from the 1940s, that the Pointer Sisters wore. Hudson's designs were featured at a 1974 show, Los Angeles Space-Age Designs: Past-Present-Future. Hudson also designed clothing for dancer Linda Gold.
Hudson designed clothing for The Man Who Fell to Earth and for Station to Station. She also created the black pants and waistcoat for David Bowie's "Thin White Duke" look in 1976. Some of the items she designed for Bowie are on permanent collection at the Metropolitan Museum of Modern Art.