The legacy, the music, the fashion. All has been covered, and re-covered. The last-look, the exclusive, the new look. Is there anything left to be said about Michael Jackson?Ray ban should thank him. He took a brand that was solely used by pilots and stylists in motion pictures and made them accessible, interesting and cool.
The Penny Loafer, known only to little school girls and preppies, became a major trend and Bass Weejuns are still selling strong. Jackson used them not because of their aesthetic, but more so he could dance. Would a moonwalk have ever been possible in gradiated bottom soles?
The white glove was originally one of those white gallery gloves that film processors, editors, and people who have to handle archival art use on a daily basis. Why wear two and look like Mikey Mouse when you can wear one? It draws attention to the hand, better to feature the famous dance moves as well.
As a style started to build from function into fashion we must honor the costume designers as well. Michael Bush and Dennis Tompkins have been long time costume designers for Michael Jackson. Making more military jackets than one can imagine they have created an iconic look followed by current fashion houses making the “it jacket” a reality again.
Deborah Landis designed Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” jacket and you can bet a lot of red leather will come out of the Fall 2010 menswear shows as red already seems to be a big theme with Spring.
Swarovski was slated to do costumes for the upcoming “This is It” London tour. And Louis Vuitton gave us some Swarovski crystalled gloves to inspire…
But what I find the most interesting in analyzing a pop icon is the fashion references. Givenchy’s military jacket in 2007 where Ricardo Tisci clearly had the 80’s pop star on his mind, was then worn by Jackson himself in 2009, so therefore Tisci was asked to create costumes for his O2 London performance, which will now never happen, but in return for the amazing invitation to design for the King of Pop, Tisci at his Givenchy men’s show just weeks ago returned the compliment by turning out Jackson inspired menswear.
Balmain had the same experience. With more than an 80’s rock star glamour influence Christophe Decarnin turned out Military-inspired jackets all while Madonna pumped through the speakers. A literal reference to 80’s fashion – yes, but it was when Jackson appeared in the zebra sequined number sported by Angela Lindvall on the runway in Paris this February it turned into Balmain, doing Jackson wearing Balmain… Whew!
So now we enter a new era where designers can choose to emulate, remember, pay homage, whatever you want to call it. Where all that is left are the “trends he once wore” and the photos that go with it. In East Hampton this weekend a woman decided to sum it all up in this snazzy t-shirt. With Graphic art coming on strong in the next couple of months, maybe we will see a sketch version of this walking the runway…
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