Peter Max Psychedelic Scarf

In the late 1960s and early 70s Peter Max was everywhere.  Or at least his products with his name in bold print were.  Max opened  a design studio in New York in the early 1960s, but it was his finely honed style of the late Sixties that combines op art, comic strips, astrology and Eastern mysticism that seemed so perfect for the Woodstock Generation.   In 1969 he was on the cover of Life, with the title of the article being, “Peter Max: Portrait of the Artist as a Very Rich Man.”

There were dozens of Peter Max labeled products – everything from blow-up vinyl pillows to kitchen wares to clothing.  Many of the designs were manufactured by clothing firms such as Wrangler, for which Max designed jeans, shorts, and shirts.  Others were advertising items like the decorated vinyl umbrellas that were made for Rightguard deodorant.  About ten years ago my friend Corky who owned a vintage store in Asheville went to the estate sale of an optometrist.   She found stacks of Peter Max scarves that were made for an eyeglass company.

In 1970 Max designed a line of junior dresses, tee shirts and neckties for the guys which Seventeen magazine featured on the cover and in an editorial.  These were only made for a year or two and are very rare (and valuable) today.   I guess the very rich artist decided he had enough money to last him for a while, because soon afterward he closed his design studio and semi-dropped-out.

The Peter Max scarves are a bit easier to find, but after spotting this one at Design Archives in Greensboro, I realized that I’d not seen one for sale (except online) in years.   So yes, I had to add it to my collection especially since the only Max examples I have are two of his Neo-Max swimsuits that he designed in the 1980s.

The only Peter Max items I remember having as a kid were several of the inflatable pillows.  After a while they started leaking, and eventually they were thrown out.

11 Comments

Filed under Designers, Vintage Clothing

11 responses to “Peter Max Psychedelic Scarf

  1. Whoa. That is something else.

    Oh my gosh! Swimsuits!? I bet those are amazing! I’ll have to click through your pin board of your collection!

    Oh inflatable pillows! That stuff made a comeback in the late 90s, and I was all over it!

    Like

  2. Morning Waters

    Peter Max is so intwined with the Beatles “Yellow Submarine” period in my mind. I always loved his bright over the top designs.

    Like

  3. fivehalos

    Hey there. I love this. You should know, though, that Max hardly dropped out. He instead put his energy into fine art – creating iconic pieces for every president since Ronald Reagan, a mountain of celebs, and everyday folks who have money to buy his original works. His career is really over-the-top and so much more than his (awesome) design work. His work is highly sought after and he travels around the world – almost tirelessly. In October his memoir (of sorts) was published. The Universe of Peter Max. It’s very interesting. http://www.amazon.com/The-Universe-Peter-Max/dp/0062121391 All that said – you are lucky to add that very cool item to your collection. Fun stuff.

    Like

  4. Carol

    I had one of those junior size Peter Max dresses in 1971 and would give anything to still have it. I’ve tried, unsuccessfully to find one on the internet.

    Like

  5. Nancy

    I have two of the junior size Peter Max mini dresses from the late 60’s/early 70’s and am trying to get an estimate of their value.

    Like

  6. Dak

    I was a hippy chic wore peter max scarf around hair and neck and waiste the same scarf

    Like

  7. Fay Parpart

    Love this scarf – trying to decide if I should keep it or sell it???

    Like

  8. Mary Ann Rodman Downing

    I have this Peter Max scarf. I bought this with my babysitting money sometime in the 1969-70 school year. I think I bought it at Sears? I do remember I paid five bucks for it…a lot of money for me. And I was only 15, and too insecure to go into a fancy boutique so It would have to have been a “mall store.” It’s given me a lot of pleasure over the years…and still looks brand new. BTW…I’m a big fan of your blog.

    Like

  9. Freedom

    How much you think the value of this scarf is

    Like

Leave a comment

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.