The Fool (design collective)

The Fool were a Dutch design collective and band in the psychedelic style of art in British popular music in the late 1960s. They worked closely with The Beatles in London, painting George Harrison's Mini car, John Lennon's piano and a three story high psychedelic mural on the outside of the Apple Boutique on Baker Street (since painted over). The group was named in reference to the Fool tarot card.

The original members were Dutch artists Simon Posthuma (1 February 1939 – 28 February 2020) and Marijke Koger (born 6 November 1943), who were discovered by photographer Karl Ferris among the hippie community on the Spanish island of Ibiza in 1966. He took photographs of clothes they designed, and sent them to London where they were published in The Times. Ferris took The Fool back to London, and together they opened a studio, with the Dutch artists producing clothes and art, and Ferris pursuing photography. Barry Finch (10 April 1943 - 11 May 2021), a maverick public relations man in the music scene, discovered the couple's talents and working for Brian Epstein got them their first designer deals in the industry. When the offers kept coming, Marijke Koger insisted that Josje Leeger (25 September 1943 - 4 July 1991), her best friend and a fashion designer with whom she had collaborated in Amsterdam, come over to join the two. Barry and Yosha Finch became a couple and so The Fool was born.

Works

Their work includes:

the colourful clothes worn by the Hollies on the cover of their 1967 album Evolution;

stage costumes and the front cover design for the self-titled 1968 debut LP Move by the Move;

stage costumes for Procol Harum;

the cover of the Incredible String Band's 1967 LP The 5000 Spirits or the Layers of the Onion;

cover art for Boudewijn de Groot's 1968 Psych-folk LP Picknick (credited to Simon & Marijke);

stage costumes and decoration to instruments used by Cream, including Eric Clapton's famed Gibson SG guitar (also named The Fool), Jack Bruce's Fender Bass VI bass, and Ginger Baker's drum kit, created for the group's 1967 tour of the US.

several illustrations in the magazine Oz

The Fool's best known artworks are those they created for the Beatles in 1966–67.