Michael Jackson: From His Tailor Michael Bush (9)
Read Part Eight of this article here: here.
A book
After a long wait, earlier this month a book by Michael Bush was released. In it, he tells us about the King of Pop’s luxurious outfits and the behind-the-scenes stories behind them—from his Beat It jacket to his famous white socks and his famous sequin-embroidered gloves. The book is called The King of Style: Dressing Michael Jackson. [Of course, another name had been announced for it earlier.]
What you read in the previous eight articles was a brief look at what this book has to say. Michael Jackson had a unique style, and without a doubt, a book about it will have a special place in every fan’s library. Sales of this 224-page book began on November 1 this year on Amazon. You can also visit its official website.
Bush says: "When Michael was alive, he always talked to us about making a book like this. My wish is that, under the shadow of this book, fashion fans and enthusiasts can taste the excitement that I experienced all my life alongside the King of Pop, Michael Jackson."
In this book, photos of Michael Jackson’s luxurious outfits are included alongside unseen photos of the King of Pop. For Bush, this book is a tribute to two dear and long-time friends who have both left this world: Michael Jackson and Dennis Tompkins.
The original designs of Michael’s outfits—worked on personally by him together with his two tailors—are the spice of this book. However, Bush says there are designs that, for some reason, were not in his possession and therefore are not included in the book. You read the reason in the previous article.
The idea for the book was theirs—each of the three
Besides designing the outfits, Bush even calls the idea of printing the book a three-person idea of Michael, Dennis, and himself—but he says it was Michael Jackson who inspired him to write it.
According to Bush, Michael was always hunting for new ideas. In every city, he would definitely visit two places: children’s hospitals or orphanages, and museums. Sometimes he would get his ideas from these places. All it took was to look at a portrait or an ordinary person, and an idea would come to his mind. Bush says this way of Michael was always a guiding light for him and for Dennis.
Michael would occasionally give his clothes to other people and gift them. Bush describes his generosity in a way that goes beyond words:
"Michael was extremely generous. If you told him you liked something, he would give it to you."
This tailor and clothing designer points to an even more interesting point: why did Michael Jackson enjoy giving gifts?
Bush says Michael loved the electricity he saw in people’s eyes when they were receiving gifts. Whenever he gave away part of his memorabilia to others and saw the sparkle of joy in their eyes, he would be completely immersed in pleasure and excitement.
Michael always told Bush: "Eyes are a window into the human soul."
But it was precisely Michael’s generosity that made Bush feel the need to categorize and keep the clothes.
Once, when Michael had given away his fourth set of clothes, he called Bush and asked him to sew the fifth jacket as well, because he had already given away everything he had. From that time on, Bush felt the need for a notebook where he could store all the information and possessions. Over time, this notebook grew bigger and bigger, and finally—this very month—it reached fans in the form of a book full of beautiful photos. Bush had started photographing the outfits years ago. One day, Michael saw the photos and said:
"Wow, Bush—you have to make a book of it."
"I couldn’t have handled this. This man gave me a camera and told me to practice. He turned me into a photographer, and now I’ve written a book. My name is also registered in the official archive of U.S. patents (because of the ‘Smooth Criminal’ shoes)."
Michael gave many of his outfits to Bush and Tompkins and asked them to be their guardians. Bush says:
"I kept everything carefully because I knew that, in the end, I would have to write a book."
Bush says the intense workload prevented the book from reaching completion, because priorities were always the tours, concerts, and ceremonies. During Michael’s lifetime, Bush and Tompkins were constantly busy designing and sewing. After MJ and Dennis passed away, the task of printing the book—something all three of them had wished for—fell heavily on Michael Bush.
A book tour around the world
Bush says: "I was lucky enough to be able to tell my story while I was alive. I didn’t want the memories and the interesting and amazing stories we had with Michael to remain untold and disappear. Now I’m happy that I was able to tell the story in my own voice, not someone else’s."
To promote the book, starting October 30, with the support of Hard Rock Cafe, Bush set off on a tour around Europe, visiting London, Paris, Amsterdam, Brussels, Berlin, and Copenhagen. Fans could meet Bush up close at Hard Rock Cafe stores and buy the book with his signature. The tour continued until November 14, and then it was time for Los Angeles, where Bush attended the Julien Gallery on November 19 and 20.
Meeting fans was an interesting experience for Bush. Since he had always worked behind the scenes, he says this time he was able to see the world through Michael’s eyes. He could see that "spark" Michael had told him about in the fans’ eyes, and understand what they felt for Michael. Bush says:
"Now I know what it was that was affecting Michael and inspiring him... his fans."
After 25 years of continuous work, today Bush is enjoying the results of his valuable efforts.
After the work was finished and the safekeeping of Michael Jackson’s entrusted items was taken care of by his foundation, and after selling some other items; when Bush no longer has to worry about the storage costs of these luxurious and historic clothes, or about them gradually deteriorating—this veteran tailor is going to move on to other clothes that have been waiting for him for twenty years.
This article continues...
Source: eMJey.com / ifashion, The wrap, Reuters, Associated Press