Dennis Tompkins Has Died
On December 2, Dennis Tompkins—another friend and collaborator of Michael Jackson—passed away.
Karen Faye, Michael’s makeup artist, confirmed on Twitter yesterday: “Yes, we lost another dear friend and artist. It was his wish to leave this world in peace and silence.”
Dennis Tompkins and Michael Lee Bush have, for 25 years since 1985, been responsible for designing almost all of Michael’s luxurious outfits—from the clothes for three world tours and multiple clips, to various shoes and gloves, special outfits for music awards ceremonies, and official meetings with presidents and royal families. The shoes Michael designed and invented for performing the Anti Gravity Lean on Smooth Criminal were made by these two. There was a hole in the heel of these shoes, which locked onto hooks on stage, allowing Michael and the dancers to bend at a 45-degree angle.
The memorial outfit Michael wore for the Earth Song video was also among the designs of these two friends.
They had designed tens of thousands of clothing items and their accessories for Michael.
Michael’s outfits alone are considered one of his defining trademarks. His unique style in clothing became the foundation for a trend that many others were influenced by.
Bush and Tompkins would sit for hours in the studio watching Michael’s dancing and his way of singing—like a stage performance—so they could incorporate the essence of his art into the clothing designs and also understand what practical freedom Michael needed in his outfits. They always knew that a good outfit should allow an artist to move in any direction without struggling or straining. Michael’s clothes had to match the notes he sang and every dance move he made.
During the History tour, before performing a medley of Jackson Five songs, Michael Bush would come on stage together with Karen Faye to prepare Michael for that segment and dress him for it.
Tompkins and Bush rarely talked about their collaboration with Michael in the media. They were among the costume designers for Michael’s final tour, This Is It, which was canceled after Michael’s death.
Tompkins and Bush knew that the star of the group was Michael, and they never tried to chase fame for the sake of “taking the spotlight.” Instead, in silence, they created art that left the world in awe—and now Michael’s luxurious outfits have become part of various exhibitions around the world.
They also designed the suits Michael wore during his 2005 court case. After the trial ended, the Los Angeles Times went to them to interview them.
The trial lasted until June, and during that time Bush would wake up every day at 3:00 a.m. to take the outfits that he and Tompkins had prepared the night before from their workshop in Las Vegas to Norland, Michael’s home in Los Angeles. The outfits consisted of a set of jacket and pants, a vest, a tie, and special accessories such as military medals and similar items.
Between 6:00 and 7:00 a.m. in Norland, Bush helped Michael put on the clothes. He said Michael always appreciated him and hugged him.
In the afternoon, Bush was in his workshop to help Tompkins prepare the outfits for the next day. The two would make the clothes using Michael’s mannequins. The dimensions of the mannequin matched Michael’s size exactly.
What the two of them were most proud of was that Michael never wore the same outfit twice.
Bush: “We had 2 or 3 tailors sewing the clothes because we couldn’t prepare them on time by ourselves.”
They tried to go to bed at 9:00 p.m., but sometimes they stayed awake until 11:00.
Over the years, they took photos of everything they prepared for Michael, because they were afraid Michael might ask them to order the same piece again. Michael liked to have two of every outfit. It happened that the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame or Madame Tussauds would request a piece of Michael’s clothing, and he would want to keep one of them for himself as well.
The media always accused Michael of being extravagant for wearing luxurious, flashy clothes, but according to Tompkins, that judgment was unfair.
“If anyone else wore these clothes, they wouldn’t make such comments about them.”
“Bruce Willis wore an orange jacket. Robin Williams wore a suit with straps hanging from it. Nobody said anything about them because they aren’t Michael Jackson. If Michael Jackson had walked into court wearing a mourning outfit designed by Giorgio Armani, people would still have had something to say.”
Once, Michael went to court wearing pajamas. He had been hospitalized due to severe back spasms, and the judge ordered that he must attend court. So he went to court in the same pajamas he was wearing.
The media criticized Michael, but Bush said: “Excuse me! If you’re in the hospital, what would you wear?”
“Michael had never been dragged into a court like that in his life. We had to design something worthy of Michael Jackson, but at the same time it had to be appropriate for court.”
For their designs, they drew inspiration from various sources. Bush explained:
“We buy different magazines with women’s, men’s, and children’s clothing designs and spread them out on the floor so we can sit and look at them. Dennis takes the design board and his pencils and starts drawing. Our work is a team effort. Michael is always receptive to ideas.”
Michael guided them like this: “This is what the rest of the world wears; I want something better than that.”
Bush: “The first outfit we designed (on the first day of the trial) was a white suit, and then people went crazy. So we moved toward dark colors—deep blue, black—with gray streaks, and then we dressed Michael in a red blazer suit with buttons on both sides. The world stopped. That red jacket took up the front pages of all the newspapers for the whole day.”
The vests Michael wore in those days were well known. These vests were sewn from Indian silk, colorful European fabrics, and inexpensive, low-city materials from Los Angeles. Some had stone embroidery and some had button embroidery.
Bush: “Michael loves military decorations. A uniform has to be striking. They are flawless and look like dance costumes. They sit on the skin like it’s part of it.”
Michael was a regular customer at a store in Santa Monica that sold British trinkets.
Tompkins believed: “These British medals, with their beautiful enamel work, look like jewelry.”
Over the years, Bush and Tompkins collected a rich set of military uniforms, hats, medals, and books so they could use them as inspiration for Michael’s clothing designs.
Bush, with a sparkle in his eyes, explained: “When Michael comes here, it’s time to perform.”
The outfits march, and Michael gives his opinion. But even from Michael’s perspective, some of their inventions were too much.
“Some things he sees, he says, ‘No, no, no!’ and we say, ‘Yes, yes, yes!’”
And with a wide smile he continued: “We’re used to designing dance outfits for Michael.”
Michael died in June 2009, and in September his coffin was buried in the Forest Lawn Cemetery crypt. Michael Bush and Dennis Tompkins sewed Michael’s final outfit so he could wear it forever in his coffin.
The design was not signed in 1998. In some years of his life—from the Bad era (Bad, 1987) to the early 1990s—Michael would record his signature with the year 1998. Different interpretations of this signature exist. Some say the reason is that Michael turned 40 in 1998. Others say that according to a prophecy, Michael would die in 1998, and still others say Michael believed that 1998 would be a turning point for him. Michael’s daughter, Paris, was born in 1998. This signature with the year 1998 was printed at the beginning of his biography book, Moonwalk, which was published in 1988. Some say it was a printing mistake or an error by Michael, though that argument doesn’t seem very logical. Others believe that with this signature, Michael guaranteed book sales for 10 years and hoped the book would be a bestseller for a decade.
Source: eMJey.com / LA Times