Michael Jackson: From his tailor Michael Bush (2)

Read Part One of this article here.

Michael Jackson as a pioneer and fashion designer

Michael Jackson could visualize anything in his mind. He could explain his ideas well to his designers.

Bush says: "It’s hard to find someone who can plan fashion and style better than Michael. Michael’s idea was that he wanted to design his own style. He said, ‘I want them to follow me. I don’t want to wear their clothes. I want to be unique. Just like my music is me, my appearance also has to be mine.’" With every album, Michael’s style was renewed. As a complete artist, he paid attention to every detail—from stage design to choreography, and even the sequins and embellishments that his tailors used on his clothes.

Michael Jackson is known just as much for his dancing and singing as he is for his clothes, and this fame came from these fine details.

"The outfits had to match the way he performed on stage. He wanted his clothes to be as interesting in the dressing room as they were when he wore them. He wanted these outfits to be fully realized and packed with details for display in front of his audience."

The outfits mattered to Michael as much as the show itself, and that alone was enough to make Michael stand out among Bush’s customers. Others would order the clothes and receive them after a certain period, but Michael personally had a hand in every stage of the process.

Michael knew what he was looking for. He had an idea in his mind and explained it well to Dennis Tompkins, Bush’s partner. He told him what kind of feeling the video and song the outfit was meant for carried. Then Dennis Tompkins would sit down and create a design on paper.

Bush has many pleasant stories to tell. For example: Michael first made his own first white glove, but soon preferred the glove that had been sewn by Bush and Tompkins. The iconic Michael Jackson white glove was also the result of a three-way collaboration between Michael, Bush, and Dennis. Michael visualized the idea, Dennis brought it onto paper, added Swarovski crystals, and Bush sewed it.

The general rule

When designing Michael’s clothes, one essential point always had to be followed. What was it? Flashiness and luxury? Comfort? Innovation? ... The correct answer is: spellbinding.

Wherever Michael appeared—no matter where—he had to entertain others. The clothes had to be spellbinding, and of course, while being stylish, they also had to give him room to move. In other words, these outfits had to match Michael Jackson’s body, style, and fame at the same time.

A showman has to showman. Michael wanted even his clothes to follow his method and be entertaining and attractive. He loved fun and amazement, and if a piece of clothing gave him that feeling, he would wear it on stage. Color was another point. Michael liked colorful clothes.

Someone like Michael Jackson?

In Bush’s view, no such person exists. In the world of fashion, he doesn’t consider any other artist a rival to Michael. He says Michael’s clothes were made for dancing and big moves, but the outfits that singers wear on stage are not like that. They’re made for the stage, but not for a dancer.

"Lady Gaga has her own unique style, but even she doesn’t have Michael’s movements. Beyoncé wears luxurious outfits on the red carpet, but anyone can go to a store and order them... However, Michael Jackson’s clothes belong to an era that will never be repeated. He was the best, and his clothes had to have that same quality."

"Artists like Lady Gaga and Beyoncé design special outfits for their shows. I don’t disagree with their approach, but they aren’t as precise as Michael in this work, and they don’t follow the kind of fashion finesse Michael cared about."

Michael didn’t imitate fashion, but he wanted everyone to be his follower. Now young artists like Kanye West, Lady Gaga, and Justin Timberlake wear outfits that remind us of the King of Pop. Balmain’s fashion house designed some military-style jackets that you could say were directly inspired by the King of Pop’s outfits—and even the designer of these jackets, Christopher Decarnin, has mentioned Michael Jackson.

Many designers have taken inspiration from Michael’s clothes. For example, twenty years ago, before Turkish designer Huseyin Chalayan introduced his famous LED shirt in 2008, Michael Jackson had already worn a leather jacket that used batteries to project light.

And also, a decade before Prada unveiled a jacket with spoon-and-fork charms in its 2010 fashion show, Michael had worn a jacket decorated with spoons, knives, and forks instead of royal medals.

The dinner jacket

The King of Pop had interesting habits—for example, sometimes in the middle of the night he would call the tailor and create a riddle. He once asked Bush: "What is it that every woman, man, and child in the world knows about?"... "Mickey Mouse" was the first thing that came to Bush’s mind, but the dining utensils were the answer Michael had in mind. Michael asked Bush to sew him a jacket using these tools.

The result was a jacket with several spoons, knives, and forks hanging from it, and Michael named it the "dinner jacket".

This article continues...

Source: eMJey.com / Reuters & Associated Press