The ‘Butterfly’ jacket was famously worn by Mick Jagger for the celebrated Hyde Park Concert Rolling Stones ’50 & Counting', Live Tour, 6 and 13 July 2013, to a sell-out audience of 65,000 people. As he walked on stage he called out 'A big hi to London, England and Hyde Park! Anyone here that was here in 1969?', to cheers from the crowd. 'Well hi, it’s nice to see you again.' He chose to wear this butterfly jacket (with a matching blue silk shirt and skinny black jeans) around the middle of the set - for the 12th song ‘Miss You’. At this point, large screens surrounding the stage showed blue butterflies (identical to those on his jacket) fluttering skywards as a tribute to the late Brian Jones. It was reminiscent of the original 1969 concert where the then recently deceased band member had been honoured by the release of hundreds of real, white butterflies into the sky.
When designing, Scott took into consideration the need for stage clothes to give maximum impact whilst also taking into account the setting in which they were to be worn in line with Jagger’s expressed wishes, 'When you’re onstage (the costumes) have to fit and they have to be – for me – glamorous. They have to fit in with the show. If you’re doing a small club, you don’t want to dress up like a popinjay. If you’re playing in a really big stadium, you want to be in super-bright colours, otherwise you just get lost. But if you’re in an arena that’s really well lit... you don’t have to go on looking like a Day-Glo… Sometimes you want clothes that have movement. So I’ve always done a lot of coats influenced by riding of the 18th or early 19th century redingotes the French call them.’ She liked these jackets with short tails as they gave added movement to the garment which she described as ‘quite fun, like a peacock. He’s sort of like a great peacock really!’
Her choice of fabric or embellishment was also key for the design as exemplified by the butterfly jacket - using embroidery and sequins that caught the light as the performer moved around the stage, ‘So in the lights it will look really glam rock n' roll. It won’t be sad – I don’t like anything that’s too flat.’
For each two hour live show she would propose a selection of three or four jackets and five to seven silk shirts – 'I want to make a hyper tailored, glam looks that deconstruct as he performs, meaning he keeps taking clothes off. An artist needs his options to tell his story when he is on stage. I just think you’ve got to give choices, That’s how you approach it - the artist needs options.'
She admitted that it helped if a designer knew her customer well, 'You have to listen carefully to their ideas. You have to make sure that your creation, your vision is in tune with theirs. Mick really has his own style and he is quite opinionated about how he wants to look. In a way when you’re designing for him, you are designing for the stage persona. So it’s great when you see the clothes come to life and moving – it’s amazing…I love when they go in front of the fitting mirror and do their thing, pose, dance. I love that moment!'
During the shows L’Wren Scott liked to watch from her favourite spot – the lighting booth, always on hand to come to the rescue in case of wardrobe malfunction – 'It’s fun - and I’m there just in case a sequin needs sewing or feathers need replenishing’.
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