The Apple Boutique
As George Harrison put it, “The Apple Boutique started as an excellent idea…what we were trying to do was to sell all the stuff that we liked.” John Lennon wanted it to be “cheap, but good quality.” In addition to clothes, they sold books, jewelry, music, spiritual objects, instruments, paintings, and furniture – “a Garden of Eden for lovers of hip clothes and all the trappings of a beautiful life.” The Beatles selected Amsterdam artistic collective The Fool to design the clothing and shop interiors. They had previously worked with the four Dutch designers on a televised “All You Need is Love” performance and The Beatles Magical Mystery Tour film. The Fool embraced ethnic and multi-cultural inspiration in their design, travelling to Morocco to source fabric and jewelry prior to the boutique’s opening. The collective’s most extraordinary contribution was the giant psychedelic mural designed by Fool member Marijke Koger on the wall of 94 Baker Street, home of the boutique and Apple Corps headquarters.
The retail business lost money at an alarming rate, eventually running to £200,000 (equivalent to £3,690,100 in 2021) and the shop was closed on 31 July 1968.
I remember shopping at a Mod Boutique in N. Miami where many of the musicians purchased their clothes, I know I did.
