Mary Wilson, 64, is the only member of the Supremes to remain in the group from the beginning, a career that spanned 18 years. She has had 12 No1 hits in the US and is still performing today. Her personal costume collection will be at the Victoria and Albert Museum in The Story of The Supremes exhibition, which opens on May 13.

We introduced high-end glamour to rock'n'roll. When we wore gowns on stage, people were in awe of the beauty. That is why I think entertainers, especially females, have the ability to wear things so gorgeous that people are bedazzled. That was our motto: look glamorous.

We were all from the same neighbourhood, and a couple of us went on a singing talent show at school. That is how Florence and I got to know each other, while someone went across the road and spoke to Diane [Diana Ross].

We used to make our clothes from patterns from the five-and-dime store. When we had our first hit, we bought gowns from stores such as Saks Fifth Avenue. When we did the really big TV shows, they had designers. They would make things for us, many of which you will see at the V&A exhibition.

One of my favourite dresses was the butterfly one. It is sequined, with a chiffon cape attached to the shoulders and arms - when you lifted your arms, it looked like wings.

People always ask if the gowns were uncomfortable but, no, they were not. They were beaded so that the weight was evenly distributed. But when you held them, some weighed nearly 35lb.

We introduced wigs to the era. Wigs, eyelashes, elaborate gowns. It had been done before, but we made it very, very popular.

It is difficult, when you are travelling around the world to keep your hair “done” every day. We did have a stylist later on, who did all our hairpieces. We are Afro-American and our hair was quite different; it was very hard to find people who could do your hair. It was a time when people just didn't know how to do black hair.

I did have blonde hair, back in the 1960s. As I got older, Doris Day became one of my favourite style icons. She was just so cute and perky, and happy all the time.

We used to look at Eartha Kitt, Josephine Baker, Lena Horne: there were lots of beautiful black women we knew and loved. Yes, I guess we did become style icons.

We had one wardrobe malfunction that I can recall. We were doing a live TV show. During commercial breaks on The Ed Sullivan Show, he didn't like people to change their wardrobe because when you came back, you had to be ready to go. We wanted to change and were late, which was really panicky. Sullivan said, “Oh, the Supremes aren't here”, and blamed it on Diana Ross.

Dreamgirls, the movie, is about three girls and people say it's about the Supremes, but really it's not. It's kind of sad because the movie is beautiful, but if you are doing a story of a person's life, then they should get the credit. We didn't get the credit. Our gowns were completely beaded, and theirs were not. They may look similar, but those gowns cannot touch ours.

The Supremes had a huge influence on social issues. We used to hang out with Martin Luther King, and go on the marches. I've had Whoopi Goldberg and Oprah Winfrey tell me that the Supremes influenced them to become who they have become, so that's a powerful thing. I'm still pinching myself.

Visit www.vam.ac.uk or call 0870 9063883 for tickets.

Times recommends

• It is possible to look stylish while pregnant
• Britain’s tot models
• Who and what benefits from the heat wave?