Worn by lead singer Martin Phillipps during the video for the band's signature 1984 Flying Nun single Pink Frost, it is instantly recognisable in the centre of a new exhibition of the band's history, which opens at Otago Museum's H.D. Skinner Annexe on Saturday.
"I guess there are expectations about the quality of your work if you are put in a museum," Phillipps said.
"I was a bit nervous about it because from that era there are probably around 100 people who deserve an exhibition, but then I started realising what we were talking about was the Chills saga, linked in with my collecting, linked in with all my influences, and it is a worthy story that there is a lot of interest in.
"From that point, it's been a very exciting thing to be a part of, going through my things and discovering what is relevant to the narrative."
It is a Dunedin story about to go global.
Part of the inspiration for the exhibition was the making of a documentary film about Phillipps and The Chills, partly funded by an online sale of some of Phillipps' extensive pop culture collection.
However, plenty of items remain for display in the exhibition, which also draws upon Phillipps' extensive archive of The Chills material.
It features sections on the band's national and international successes, Phillipps' songwriting, and a Chills family tree charting the many musicians who contributed to the band in the past.
While The Chills went through a dizzying number of members in its early days, the line-up has been stable for almost 20 years now.
With continuity comes creativity, and The Chills have a new album Snowbound due out in September, Phillipps said.
"We'll be touring again, starting in Australia, and we'll basically be promoting that for the next year, off and on."
"The story hasn't finished, and that's a good part of it - like the documentary itself I'm interested to see the ending and see how it works out."
The documentary remained on track for screening at international film festivals next year, Phillipps said.
