Originally Posted by
bradsupremes
I wondered about this and this was my assessment...
Motown never owned the gowns because the label never paid for them so Motown didn't have any grounds to claim ownership. The girls paid for their gowns so each girl owned them. I presume when each girl left the group there would be some reimbursement and the gowns would be left to the group. What I think was different was that Jean, Lynda, Scherrie and Susaye weren't the owners of the gowns they inherited from Diana, Mary, Cindy or Flo nor do I think they were reimbursed for gowns that weren't designed or paid for by them when they left. They merely paid for their upkeep, storage, and any work done on them for their use. Mary stated that in 1970 when Diana left the group and she was the last original member that all things were to be turned over to her so in a sense Mary felt she was the owner of all the gowns. We also have to consider Supremes, Inc. that Mary created in 1973[[??). No longer did Motown oversee the finances of the group and this extended to the storage, care, upkeep, and commissioning of gowns. It was all paid for by Supremes, Inc. I also feel if the Supremes were to continue with Scherrie and Susaye that they would have wanted a new direction and look for the group. It's very possible they wouldn't have wanted the gowns and left them with Mary.
I think how it all played out was that after the farewell performance at the Drury Lane there had been no plans for what to do with the gowns and since Mary & Pedro oversaw Supremes, Inc. and maintained the storage of them they just held on to them. When Motown dissolved the group, Mary had them and that's how where we are today.
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