Imagine getting paid to make people look cool; envisage working alongside the Rolling Stones or Paul McCartney. Does that sound too good to be true? Well, not for Jackie Crier – as Paul Disney found out

 

Jackie Crier is in a hurry. She’s about to meet up with friends and board the Brighton to Victoria train to catch Mark Inscoe (a Brighton lad starring in Priscilla Queen Of The Desert: The Musical), at London’s Palace Theatre. She’s about to leave her shop Masquerade and head out for a night out on the town. However, hurry or not, she sat down and proceeded to talk… and talk.

 

“Mark’s playing Bernadette in Priscilla, and we’ve all got together to go and support him,” says Jackie. “It’s going to be a real scream – can you imagine around 50 of us on the train? Of course we’ll all be having one or two V&Ts along the way. I just hope this rain will stop at some point and we all get back in one piece,” she says, laughing.

 

Priscilla aside, it could be said that Jackie has had a very theatrical upbringing. Her father would often take her to see cabaret shows featuring drag artists and other cabaret performers. She would often find herself at venues such as Danny La Rue’s Club in London’s Soho, where she embraced the glamour and got her first taste of high-end fashion. So it’s not really surprising that she has stayed in the fashion/clothing business for the past 35 years. So where did it all start?

 

“I had the most fabulous job any young girl could hope for,” she says. “I was working in a clothes shop called Spice in Knightsbridge. One day a friend came in and asked me, ‘Would you like to do a job for the Hollies – they need a stylist. Have you got time?’ I couldn’t quite believe what I was hearing. Obviously I said yes. I did the styling for the Hollies, and eventually found myself styling for huge names including the Beatles and the Rolling Stones.

 

“I’ve worked with some amazing photographers over the years. I really enjoyed working with Terence Donovan, Barry Lategan, Richard Avedon and David Bailey, for whom I did the styling for the 1985 issue of the famous Pirelli calendars. However, one of the most memorable images I helped achieve through styling would be the 1968 Rolling Stone’s album cover, Beggar’s Banquet [picture below], designed and photographed by David Bailey.”

 

Jackie’s story is not all about glitz and glamour. While being brought up in London, Jackie spent a lot of her time in Brighton with her grandparents. And when her marriage ended 14 years ago, she decided to move to the seaside city with her four sons.

 

“It was a tough time for me. When I got here I was willing to do any work – even a job at B&Q would have been OK. There was a lot of pressure in London, working from 6am through to 1am the following day. You have to love and live styling at that level – and put up with anything else that goes with it, and that includes the odd diva or two.

 

“We used to have so much fun doing what we did – it really never felt like work. It was exceptionally professional, but at the same time really casual; it just happened and no one took themselves too seriously. But a lot of people were changing – what used to be fun had become a very serious business – to the point where money became more important than being creative.”

 

So, looking for a new direction, Jackie took over the reins of Brighton-based costumiers Masquerade in 2007 and is now known locally as the Costume Queen. Her professional team includes Penny Rollinson (formerly of the BBC costume department), Siobhan O’Leary (once in film props) and Robert James (costume designer and cabaret artiste).

 

This would appear a long way from the bright lights and fast-moving pop world. But Jackie certainly doesn’t miss the late nights and all the other aspects of her career. “Mind you, with the likes of Dave Lynn and Maisie Trollette dropping in unannounced every now and again, it’s anything but boring,” she says.

 

“At Masquerade we have more than 3,000 costumes to choose from. The girls usually like to come in and get all burlesqued up, while the boys tend to go for the butch superhero look. But really, you can be anything from Al Capone to Amy Winehouse with all the trimmings and accessories, if that’s what you want,” explains Jackie. “We source, design, create and accessorise quality bespoke costumes and fancy dress for every occasion at affordable prices.

 

“It’s not just fancy dress that we do here. We can make someone look as if they’ve just stepped off the Oscar party red carpet if they want,” Jackie explains. “It’s all in the experience – a tailor-made mix of know-how, personal service, attention to detail and a real passion for what we do.”

 

Masquerade Brighton Ltd, 38 Preston Road, Brighton BN1 4QF. 01273 673381

Unit: 01273 276449. Or email masqueradecostumes@googlemail.com for further information.

 

Photo by STUDIO EIKELPOTH, Robert Eikelpoth,

Friedrichstr. 112