King Of Style - Dressing Michael Jackson

Happy Accidents - How We Met Michael

While we can all close our eyes and instantly conjure up an image of Michael's military silhouette, there was so much more to his look that meets the eye. How could a man who was so compelled to push himself creatively simultaneously crave a consistent silhouette but never want to be stale? How did every similar cut look unique every time? Accomplishing such a feat was part of Michael's magic.
Michael's intent was to be rebellious in what he wore while applying a mix of authority through the rigid lines of the jacket. In one respect, the military cut commanded attention and respect, but this was rock 'n' roll. Once you make a traditional piece using rubber or plastic, it becomes rebellious - a subtle slap in the face to the 'what's expected of you' message.
The tradition is still there, the artwork is there, but I'm rebelling against 'the system' in my own way. I imagine Michael thought. I believed this edge, this rebellion enhanced his ability to communicate and connect more fully with his fans. Clothing aside, though, you couldn't help but connect with Michael. That's actually what happened when I met him. Instant connection.

We began collaborating with Michael in 1985 during the filming of Captain EO. And as with all great relationships, our beginning with Michael happened as a fluke. Dennis and I both worked at ABC Television. I worked various jobs as they became available, on an as-needed basis. If there were costumes to be sewn, I did that; if an actor on a soap opera needed a dresser, it was Bush to the rescue. Dennis on the other hand began his career as a dresser, assisting 'Old Hollywood' icons like Milton Berle and George Burns and moving his way up to become a cutter/fitter for ABC Television, before Disney hired him to work on Captain EO, along with costume designer John Napier ( Starlight Express and Cats).
I was exited for Dennis when he was offered the gig during the summer hiatus because it could launch his career into the world of film. Dennis wasn't exactly jumping up and down, though, as it meant he'd have to sacrifice his three month vacation, but I explained to him that adding to his résumé an 'industrial film' directed by Francis Ford Coppola and produced by George Lucas would open doors in ways he couldn't imagine. I was the starstruck one, and with coaxing  Dennis ultimately signed on to head up the department and hired me as one of his fifteen sewers.
As we worked in the workroom over the summer making the costumes for the dancers we had ni idea who the star of the film was. On our last day on the job, we were taken on a tour of the set.
"That's the elevator that is going to take Michael Jackson up through the stage," one of the staff members told us. The Michael Jackson? I was flabbergasted. This was right after the Victory Tour, the glove, the Moonwalk. In 1985, nothing and nobody was bigger than Michael Jackson. I was certainly a fan, but the idea that we just made costumes for a film starring Michael Jackson sent a wave of chills down my back. Just a few years earlier  I was a boy from Appalachia who learned to hand-sew from his mother and found his way via a zigzagging path to Hollywood. I might not have had formal training or any film industry experience, but the one thing I did was the power of persuasion, and boy was I happy I used it on Dennis.
In addition to his duties on the set of EO, Dennis was asked to also 'dress' Michael and prepare him for filming, but Dennis refused. He was a cutter/fitter after all, and he was just fine concentration on this responsibility alone. "Ask Michael Bush", Dennis suggested to one of the executives. So they did.
"I might not like him", I said flatly to the studio.
"Just try."
In the world of Hollywood fashion, there is a sort of  hierarchy involved: Designers send their sketches to cutters/fitters, who cut pattern paper and fit fabric from them onto mannequins. Cutters/fitters then send the wardrobe pieces off to stitchers, who then pass off the finished garment on a dressing-room rack until a 'dresser' is given the outfit. The dresser literally takes the outfit off the hanger and physically puts it on the performer.
I was the same age as Michael Jackson, just twenty-seven years old, and only in the industry for two and a half years, but I knew one thing: A man of Michael Jackson's caliber who didn't have his own dresser was a major red flag. What was the problem? There had to be one.

Above: On the set of Captain EO, Michael's blue crew-neck T-shirt was interfering with his costume. Here, my first act of 'duty' was to cut the T-shirt with a pair of scissors.

The light-up EO jacket was a foreshadowing of the electrifying show clothes to come.

Even with a monkey on his back, Michael as Captain EO could still turn a witch into a queen. The computer board on the center back connected to the battery pack that was hidden down Michael's right leg. When Anjelica Huston ( aka the Witch ) was transformed, Michael's jacket lit up.