What It's Really Like to Make Costumes for Elton John
Rocketman opens with Elton John (played by Taron Egerton) leaving the stage in a dramatic, bejeweled "Devil" costume and then promptly entering group therapy to deal with his personal demons. As the scene makes abundantly clear, John’s costume selections have always gone beyond pageantry, acting as expressions of his inner self and stemming from a wide variety of sources, from London’s traditionally straight-laced Savile Row to Gucci, all frequently adorned with Swarovski crystals.
One designer who's been a constant through Elton's career is Richard James, the Savile Row tailor known for its bright use of color and unconventional suiting. And to coincide with the film's release-it opened in the U.K. last week, and hit American theaters on Friday-James is opening its archive and splashing on its New York and London flagship windows a host of the suits the label has designed for John over the years. (The pieces will be on view until June 7.)
Among the looks on display will be a handful immediately recognizable from John's stage shows, and the new biopic: John’s crystal tailcoats during his recent Million Dollar Piano Residency in Las Vegas, his "Dot" suit for the 2001 Grammy Awards performance, as well as his suits for royal weddings and his knighting ceremony in 1998.
“Elton has been a friend and customer since we opened in 1992,” says Sean Dixon, founder and managing director of Richard James. “I remember very well when he first came into the store. He said he hadn’t seen anything as fresh and interesting on Savile Row for years... and he bought one of everything.”
The designer says he has spent literally thousands of hours collaborating with the musician on his costumes. “The sheer scale of the Million Dollar Piano show was astonishing-we made 30 bespoke suits, and each took 90 hours to make. A lot of attention went into ensuring Elton was comfortable and could move freely-the outfits really had to perform,” Dixon added.
Each suit was hand-embellished with Swarovski crystals, another major contributor to John’s wardrobe. When the Austrian crystal company helped recreate the costumes for Rocketman, it confirmed that one million crystals were used across the 64 costumes designed by Julian Day for the film. The aforementioned "Devil" costume has 60,000 crystals and the iconic Dodgers costume required a whopping 140,000; that’s not including John’s signature glasses and patches and other memorable looks like the "Yellow Brick Road" costume, replete with ruby crystal slippers.
“Any good costume makes you feel ready to perform. I arrive at a venue, take a nap, then wake up and pick my outfit. Then I put it on. And that’s the moment when I become Elton John” John once told the New York Times.
The power of "the suit makes the man" (not to mention what one million crystals and devil horns) seems to have the same impact on actor Egerton, who is already earning rave reviews for his depiction of Elton John from critics.
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