Ola Hudson

Ola J. Hudson (; October 12, 1946 – June 5, 2009) was an African-American fashion designer and costumier. She designed costumes for several famous musicians, including the Pointer Sisters, Diana Ross, Janet Jackson, Her designs are in the permanent collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Biography Hudson was born Ola J. Oliver in Los Angeles, California, on October 12, 1946. As a young adult, she studied at the Lester Horton School of Modern Dance. "He was the first guy that came along after my mom and dad divorced," Slash recalled, "so I can't think I was all that interested or happy… Now that I'm older, I can take his music to heart… The guy's a genius. And I worked with him a couple of times."

Hudson, a heavy smoker, died on June 5, 2009, of lung cancer. She 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. Her designs were featured at a 1974 show, Los Angeles Space-Age Designs: Past-Present-Future. She also designed clothing for dancer Linda Gold.

Hudson designed clothing for the film The Man Who Fell to Earth and for David Bowie's Station to Station (both 1976). She also created the black pants and waistcoat for Bowie's Thin White Duke look, also in 1976. Some of the items she designed for Bowie are part of the permanent collection at the Metropolitan Museum of Modern Art.