Hence, a jester, a fool.

a garment made of motley (especially a court jester's costume)

make motley; color with different colors

having sections or patches colored differently and usually brightly; "a jester dressed in motley"; "the painted desert"; "a particolored dress"; "a piebald horse"; "pied daisies"

The Order of Service for JB's 1995 memorial service contained a cryptic "Message From Jeremy to His Friends": "Thank you, Thank you, Thank you and now on with the Motley, whatever that means." Fans have puzzled over this sentence ever since. Holmes producer Michael Cox thought that opera fan JB surely must have known of the aria On with the Motley from I Pagliacci. (The motley is the multi-colored costume worn by clowns and court jesters in plays and operas.) Also, I've learned that "Motley" was the collective name of three British costume designers. Motley designed costumes for scores of UK and US stage plays from1932 through 1976, so it's almost certain JB had heard of them. Perhaps that's what he meant--"On with the 'Motley'"? (On with the show?)

Motley refers to the traditional costume of the Court jester or the Harlequin character in Commedia dell'arte. The latter wears a patchwork of red, green, and blue diamonds that is still a fashion motif.

consisting of a haphazard assortment of different kinds (even to the point of incongruity); "an arrangement of assorted spring flowers"; "assorted sizes"; "miscellaneous accessories"; "a mixed program of baroque and contemporary music"; "a motley crew"; "sundry sciences commonly known as social"- I.A.Richards