Michael Jackson: From His Tailor Michael Bush (10)

Read Part Nine of this article here: here.

Saying goodbye to Michael’s clothes

Over the next two days, a number of Michael Jackson’s outfits and other items—sewn over a 25-year collaboration by Michael Bush and Dennis Tompkins—will be sold at the Julien auction. Some time ago, Michael Bush donated part of Michael’s clothing to his foundation, but other outfits will be sold at auction to museums or to real individuals.

Bush says he was worried about what would happen to these clothes after his death. He would prefer to spread them around the world like Michael’s music, rather than watch them gradually disappear—although the decision to sell these items was very difficult for him.

Over 25 years of working together, these two tailors sewed between nine hundred and 1,200 pieces of clothing for the King of Pop. Michael preferred to have several copies of each outfit so he could give parts of them as gifts to acquaintances and fans, donate them to museums, or add them to his personal collection. He also gave some of these outfits to his tailors.

The outfits Bush has set aside for sale were on public display at the Julien Gallery in Beverly Hills for ten days starting November 19.

One of the auction items is a fully beaded bedspread weighing 73 pounds (33 kilograms), sewn for Michael’s bed in Neverland. One of the special jackets for the song Beat It that Michael wore on the Dangerous Tour, the jacket belonging to the promotional film for the album History, the jacket from the Bad tour, and the jacket Michael wore as "Artist of the Decade" during a meeting with then-President George H. W. Bush at the White House—these are among the items being auctioned.

The display and sale of Michael Jackson’s clothes has caused quite a commotion, but Bush says: "In my opinion, Michael Jackson was never a troublemaker. But the world expected him to be."

The 2005 trial was also part of that commotion. After that, Michael traveled to Bahrain, which gave Bush and Tompkins some time off.

Bush says they had bought a house in Las Vegas that no one had lived in for thirty years. They took advantage of the opportunity and painted the walls and installed the curtains.

Clothes that speak

A standout feature of Michael’s clothes is that by looking at them, you can tell which period of his professional career each one belongs to—almost as if they’re talking and speaking to you. Bush says that a while back, when he went on television to appear on the Today Show, he met Janet Napolitano, the U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security, backstage. After watching the outfits Bush brought onto the stage for the show, the Secretary said:

"This is Michael Jackson’s outfit from 1986. He wore this one in 1990."

Music runs through Michael’s clothes

These outfits contain Michael’s musical rhythm within them. Bush quotes Michael:

"I want to read that beat, and you have to show that beat with this outfit... my clothes have to dance with me."

Michael didn’t consider himself a clothing model. He was a dancer, but he was also aware of the importance of visual effects. In private, he would wear ordinary clothes and in bed he would wear pajamas; but in public, it was showtime. Michael wanted clothes to entertain people, and according to Bush, this trait of his turned his tailor into an inventor.

"He saw in me a fashion designer, while I didn’t even realize it."

Behind-the-scenes stories

The story of the shirt Michael wore during the filming of the video for Dirty Diana is interesting in its own way.

"He was supposed to wear a leather jacket that wasn’t right for the situation. He was walking on a fan, and his clothes had to be able to move and fly. We went back into his little room, and Michael said, ‘Bush, your shirt is winking at me,’ and that’s how the date was set."

In the fourth article, you read that no one dared to touch Michael’s dance shoes. These shoes were extremely important to Michael and vital for performing the concerts. Bush was so afraid of losing them that during the tour he would put a pair of Michael’s shoes under his pillow and sleep.

Bush has many stories like this. For example, he says he had sewn a coin into the tie that Michael Jackson wore in the Smooth Criminal video, so that the weight would make the tie spin like a sword in the air.

The shoes Michael was buried in

You read about the outfit Michael was buried in in the sixth article. But maybe you can guess the shoes he wore when leaving this world.

When Bush asked Michael’s sister about the shoes, Latoya answered that her brother had to leave this world dancing... with the cheap and comfortable shoes Michael preferred for dancing.

Of course, Michael was also wearing the black Levi’s jeans with matching beads sewn onto them, as well as the Lucite brand leg warmers he was supposed to use on the This Is It tour.

Armbands

It’s hard to find a photo of Michael’s clothes without armbands.

Bush says: "If seven jackets were hanging in a closet, it would be easy to understand which one belonged to Michael." And Michael wanted exactly that.

According to Bush, Michael wanted fans to think about why these armbands existed...

Many museums have shown enthusiasm for buying the King of Pop’s clothes. This news is good for Bush, who was worried about the clothes being destroyed over time and deteriorating.

Source: eMJey.com / Forbes, The wrap