Michael Bush talks about dressing the King of Pop Michael Jackson

^^That is because they tend to ask him the same type of questions. Where is Bush right now? Is he still touring Europe?
 
I understand that 'Dressing Michael Jackson' has won a joint award from the IPPY2013 Independent Publisher Book Awards 2013, in the 'Popular Culture / Leisure' category. Congratulations to all at Insight and to Michael Bush.

Recognizing Excellence in Independent Publishing - 17th Annual Awards

Congratulations to all 382 medalists and sincere thanks to the almost 2,500 independent authors and publishers who participated in our 2013 Independent Publisher Book Awards contest. The awards ceremony to honor the medalists will take place on May 29th in New York, on the eve of the BookExpo America convention. Medalists in attendance at the event will be introduced and presented medals and certificates; those unable to attend will receive their packets by mail.

62. Popular Culture/Leisure

Gold (tie): The King of Style: Dressing Michael Jackson, by Michael Bush (Insight Editions) and The Dark Knight Manual: Tools, Weapons, Vehicles & Documents from the Batcave, by Brandon T. Snyder (Insight Editions)
Silver: Who Is The Doctor:The Unofficial Guide to Dr. Who, by Graeme Burk & Robert Smith? (ECW Press)
Bronze: Schiaparelli & Prada: Impossible Conversations, by Andrew Bolton and Harold Koda (The Metropolitan Museum of Art)

http://www.independentpublisher.com/article.php?page=1653&urltitle=2013 Independent Publisher Book Awards Results
 
This is great. More truthful books about Michael should be recognized.
 
That is great news and congratulations to MB :clapping:
 
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I just bought his book. First I hesitated to buy it because I'm not really into clothes and fashion. But then some of my friends bought it and they told me what a great book it was so I ordered it too. And yes, it's a beautiful book, I love it very much. IMO a must for every MJ fan.
 
Great news. I hope this award gets some publicity. Bush had a great subject to work with.
 
I couldn't have said it better myself! I just recently got the book off of Amazon.com since I'd gotten an Amazon gift card, & it took about an entire week to get it, since it was shipped all the way apparently from the UK, but once I got it, i immediately started reading it, like the first day i read 3 chapters, the next day, i read chapers 4, 5, & 6, & so on!! Although I do have to say, the last part of the book made me teary-eyed, but nonetheless, the book is AMAZING!!!
 
I couldn't have said it better myself! I just recently got the book off of Amazon.com since I'd gotten an Amazon gift card, & it took about an entire week to get it, since it was shipped all the way apparently from the UK, but once I got it, i immediately started reading it, like the first day i read 3 chapters, the next day, i read chapers 4, 5, & 6, & so on!! Although I do have to say, the last part of the book made me teary-eyed, but nonetheless, the book is AMAZING!!!

I love this book, it was my christmas present from my sister. But it took ages for it to be delivered to her because it came all the way from the US. lol weird!
 
^^What a coincidence--shipped from UK to US then shipped from US to UK.
 
Re: Bush speaking at 'Bath in Fashion' 20th April 2013 (UK)

I don't like the way this article begins "Who would Michael Jackson have been without his unique style, his military style jackets, his gloves, his hats and shoes which were much a part of his persona as his ground breaking dancing and spectacular showmanship ?" The way Michael dressed had NOTHING to do with WHO he was and the talent that came out of every single pore of his body. All it did was help create and image...thats all .

Really? They were being positive, give them a break. I had to read over your message again to check you were actually being negative about that.
 
LTD you are right, to them they are being positive. I think Thunder doesn't like the way they express it. It has something to do with them writing the words "have been without," as though those articles made him "Michael Jackson." In contrast, Thunder is saying that the materials did not make him "Michael Jackson"--they were just used to create an image. Also, they did not put the most important thing in there with dancing & showmanship, i.e., his Talent!! Actually, it is sad that they left that out.

Anyway Bush wrote about these objects^^so I guess they wanted put that up front, to promote the book.
 
King of style: The man behind Michael Jackson's fashion

<!-- e src/business/templates/hearst/article/headline_r1.tpl -->By Michael Quintanilla : July 12, 2013 : Updated: July 15, 2013 9:03am


Michael Bush's tell-all fashion book about singer Michael Jackson has been in the works for two decades. But Bush's closely guarded secrets as the king of pop's personal dresser and designer aren't tabloid fodder. They're fascinating insider tidbits about his superstar client and friend.

“The King of Style” (Insight Editions, 2012) was honored last month with the top prize — a gold medal — as the pop culture/leisure winner at the Independent Publishers Book Awards. The book is loaded with the lavish garments Bush and his significant other and business partner, Dennis Tompkins, who died in late 2011, covered in “icing” and “dust” — words Jackson used for anything shiny. But it's Bush's behind-the-scenes stories about the legendary entertainer that keep you turning the page.

For instance, Jackson only danced in Florsheim loafers, and he instructed Bush to never, under any circumstances, polish them.

So his fans in the back row could see him moonwalk, Jackson danced in white socks covered with nearly 5,000 rhinestones (each hand sewn) and high-water pants — or “floods” as Jackson called them. Military-inspired jackets became his trademark because the style was worn by royalty during Victorian times as a form of entertainment.
“And Michael was the ultimate entertainer,” Bush said on the phone from his Los Angeles home. And then this, referencing a Napoleon quotation: “Michael believed in the saying, 'With baubles men are led.'”

Bush, 55, learned his craft in Portsmouth, Ohio, from his mother and grandmother, who made wedding gowns, prom dresses and quilts. He began working with Jackson in 1985, meeting the singer in a trailer on the set of the “Captain EO” movie, for which he had sewn costumes. Bush was assigned to be Jackson's dresser.

When he entered Jackson's trailer with his wardrobe for the day, the pop superstar was sitting in the dark with his pet chimpanzee, Bubbles. Jackson threw a cherry at Bush, then another and one more — “a test for a sense of humor,” Bush figured. So Bush tossed one back and then got Jackson into his outfit.

Bush and Tompkins refashioned rhinestone gloves, added “Thriller” jackets — including snakeskin, sea bass and neoprene ones and a 27-pound version loaded with lights and batteries. They created outfits for the singer's videos, short movies and world tours.
They received a patent — a surprise gift from Jackson — after inventing for him a pair of boots fashioned with Florsheim loafers that became known as the “lean shoes.” With the footwear bolted onto a board, Jackson could lean into a stunning 45-degree drop for his 1987 “Smooth Criminal” video and, later, live stage performances.

“He burst into tears” over the device, said Bush, who was always near Jackson, either in the dressing room or offstage during a show. He'd spend hours in the studio watching Jackson dance in order to make a jacket fit like a second skin — and then wait for Jackson to say, “Bush, you can go ice it now.”

“Life with Michael was anything but regimented,” Bush said. “He would call at 2 a.m. and ask, 'Did I wake you up Bush?' 'No,' I'd tell him. 'I had to get up to get the phone.' He would laugh and say, 'OK, this is what I'd like for you to do for me, Bush.'”

When Jackson died on June 25, 2009, La Toya Jackson phoned Bush and told him, “The family wants you to design and make Michael's burial outfit.”

“I told La Toya, 'I don't think I can do that,'” Bush recalled.

But La Toya was insistent.

“'You have to,'” she told me. “'Who else would do it?' She was right. Who else would do it?”

Jackson's garments, which took Bush and Tompkins five days to complete (Bush spent an hour putting them on Jackson, saying his own personal goodbye), were anything but mournful. They were sumptuous: a milky white military jacket saturated with pearls and cream-colored glass bugle beads, and black leather pants adorned with black seed beads. Cherubs held a crown on a gold bejeweled oversized belt. A British royal crest decorated an armband. And Tinker Bell was slinging glittered dust inside the right breast of his jacket; the fairy was Jackson's ultimate fantasy character “because he would say when she slings her dust, the magic begins.”

“I asked La Toya what shoes should he wear because when he wasn't performing, he wore Beatle boots,” Bush said. “La Toya told me: 'Bush, he has to go out of this world dancing. Definitely the Florsheims.'”

Bush had more to say about his book and dressing Michael Jackson:

Q: In the beginning of your book, you write that you likened Michael to a canvas.

A: Clothing is like a canvas; it explains people's personalities. Michael was extremely shy on a one-to-one basis, but with his clothes, it was always about, “Look at my clothes, not at me.” Most of all, Michael really understood showmanship. He always said, “I dance the beat and the clothes have to show the beat.”

Q: Where do you think that sort of thinking came from?

A: He once told me, “If I study the greats, I'll become greater.” That was what drove him to perfection, even with his costumes.

Q: He knew how to manipulate clothes, didn't he?

A: He wanted designs that were authoritative and demanded respect — and that was the military jacket. That look was his iconic visual.

Q: As you point out, he was extremely shy. Did you find that his clothes opened him up?

A: He often wore a dinner jacket we made for him when he entertained at Neverland Ranch because it was a conversation piece that helped him open up, even with friends like Liz Taylor and Marlon Brando. It was so juvenile, covered with forks, spoons and knives. It clanked and moved and caught the light and was the ultimate garment for Michael because everybody that saw it on him broke into laughter. And he loved that.

Q:
I was fascinated to learn that he only danced in Florsheim shoes.

A: Those are the shoes that his family could afford when he taught himself to dance. Everyone thought he should have custom-made shoes, but he said to me, “Do what you want with my clothes, but don't touch my shoes. I'm a dancer, that's my art form.” I remember once, in Japan, a manager came up to me and said, “These shoes look like hell, polish them.” So I did and handed them to Michael, who didn't get mad but told me, “Listen, Bush, if my heel slides off the back of the other heel of my shoe and I get shoe polish on the bottom of my sole and fall down on stage, we are all unemployed.” For the next 21/2 years, during the “Bad” tour from 1988 to '90, I slept with those shoes under my pillow for fear of someone else polishing them. I never let them out of my sight.

Q: I guess it's safe to say his glove or several of them also were guarded?

A: That, too. I was the guy with the clothes. Michael would say, “If I go onstage and do 'Billie Jean' and I don't have the glove, it's really no longer 'Billie Jean.'” I remember asking once what would happen if he didn't have his glove? “Well, Bush, you don't tell me. You go tell 80,000 people I don't have the glove.”


http://www.mysanantonio.com/lifesty...-The-man-behind-Michael-Jackson-s-4662197.php
 
Q: I guess it's safe to say his glove or several of them also were guarded?

A: That, too. I was the guy with the clothes. Michael would say, “If I go onstage and do 'Billie Jean' and I don't have the glove, it's really no longer 'Billie Jean.'” I remember asking once what would happen if he didn't have his glove? “Well, Bush, you don't tell me. You go tell 80,000 people I don't have the glove.”


The last part, is just genius <3

It's really wow to read this, I mean, he dressed the guy, he designed his clothes. It does me good that there are still people out there who just tells about Michael as a person and not as a Pop icon or the King of pop. It warms my heart :)
 
I really enjoyed that interview ^^. I am so glad that book is doing well.
 
Michael Bush's special 3-day tour appearances in Newport, Rhode Island from July 29th-July 31st.
This is your chance to meet Mr. Bush himself, and have him personally sign your copy of King of Style: Dressing Michael Jackson!

Here are the details:


MONDAY, JULY 29th, 2013 Off the Curb
Jane Pickens Theatre
7-9pm
Special &#8220;Billie Jean&#8221; performance

TUESDAY, JULY 30th, 2013 Sponsor Capitol Realty VIP Party
123 Bellevue Avenue
5:30-7:30pm
Phone for Details is 401-849-4221

WEDNESDAY, JULY 31st, 2013 King of Style: Dressing Michael Jackson
Special Event and Exhibit
St. Michael&#8217;s Country Day School
180 Rhode Island Avenue
6pm

Phone for Details is 401-849-4221
 
He is really traveling around.^^ I wonder if he plans to be back in New York?
 
Michael Jackson's designer signing books in Tri-State this weekend

September 10, 2013

The Herald-Dispatch / 2013
Herald-Dispatch.com

When it came to giving Michael Jackson that perfect shimmer and shine, Michael Bush was the man.

Starting Thursday, Sept. 12 through Sept. 19, Bush, the long-time costume designer and personal friend of the King of Pop, Michael Jackson, will be making a book tour through the region.

And will be getting some big-time hometown love, as Bush, a Portsmouth, Ohio, native will be getting a Walk of Fame Star at 10 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 14, joining celebrities like Roy Rogers, American operatic soprano Kathleen Battle, former Major League Baseball’s Al Oliver and Country music singer/songwriter Earl Thomas Conley in being celebrated at the downtown Walk of Fame attraction.

Bush, the author of “The King of Style: Dressing Michael Jackson,” will appear at the Shawnee State University Barnes & Noble for an exclusive appearance and book signing event at 1 p.m. Saturday.

Other area appearances include a 1 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 15 appearance at Books-A-Million at the Huntington Mall.

Fans purchasing the book will have the unique opportunity to also have Bush personally autograph their book.

“The King of Style: Dressing Michael Jackson,” is the first art-driven book about the costumes, apparel, shoes and accessories created and worn by Michael Jackson includes hundreds of lavish photographs and a behind-the-scenes-look into the process of collaborating with the world’s most legendary and powerful entertainer of our time.

The book includes personal stories from the author, never before seen photographs and a fascinating look into the world of fashion that only Jackson could have created.

It has gone on to sell over 30,000 copies to date and has been awarded the Independent Publishers 2013 Gold Medal Award and the 2013 Gold Medal from PubWest for best Design for a Specialty/Holiday book.

For 25 years, Los Angeles-based costume designer Michael Bush, along with his partner Dennis Tompkins, created Michael Jackson’s personal and concert tour wardrobes which equated to tens of thousands of original pieces.

Traveling the world with the music icon afforded Bush unprecedented opportunities into the private and professional life of Jackson. Tompkins met Jackson on the set of “Captain EO” and it was shortly thereafter that Bush joined the production.

After the production wrapped the pair began making costumes for Jackson to wear in his music videos. Their unconventional career provided them the unique opportunity to work creatively with one of the world’s greatest entertainers and through the medium of clothing helped him express his artistic style and music which in turn created a cultural icon loved worldwide.

The pair also worked with Britney Spears, Denzel Washington and Elizabeth Taylor but it was the decade long relationship with Michael Jackson that provided the inspiration and opportunities which influenced the fashion world forever.

“Michael Jackson was the world's greatest entertainer. His fashion sense and ideas of design took me on an extraordinary journey for almost 25 years. There was nothing we couldn't do and Michael was full of surprises. We traveled the world together and created designs and fashions that have become iconic. I always say I educated Michael and he educated me through the process," said author and designer Michael Bush.

"Michael loved military style, Egyptian styles and the image of royalty as you can see in many of his most famous costumes and personal outfits. When we designed, we designed for show time, no matter what the occasion. When Michael was alive he always talked about us doing a book like this. My hope is that by producing King of Style: Dressing Michael Jackson, fans and fashion enthusiasts around the world can now share in the excitement and surprises I was able to live every day working with the King of Pop, Michael Jackson."

Celebrities and fashion luminaries provided endorsements including famous London milliner Phillip Treacy and GRAMMY award winning artist Celine Dion.


http://www.herald-dispatch.com/feat...igner-signing-books-in-Tri-State-this-weekend
 
^^I don't understand that article. It's topic says the tri-state area, yet gives no information about the tri-state but some appearances in Ohio and West Virginia? Where is the New York information, unless tri-state also means 3 other states?

Respect is selling over 30,000 copies to date, means the book is a bestseller? Do you know how much Jermaine's, Fank's, and Sullivan's book sold?
 
I wish i could afford the book cause i wanna see it soo badly
 
Michael Bush Returns To Speak At His Alma Mater, Turns Down Offer From Justin Bieber To Visit Hometown
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Source: My Daily Tribune &#8211; By Ryan Ottney

Before signing his star on the Portsmouth Floodwall of Fame today, Portsmouth-born fashion designer and award-winning author Michael Bush made a quick stop at East High School in Sciotoville on Friday.
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&#8220;There&#8217;s no question it&#8217;s exciting for our school to have Mr. Bush here,&#8221; said Sciotoville Superintendent Rick Bowman. &#8220;It&#8217;s really a great opportunity for us to show students what graduates from East High School have done and what is possible if you sort of set your goals and you work to make those dreams come true.&#8221;

Originally from Portsmouth, Bush worked at Millhuff&#8217;s in Sciotoville with his family, where he learned to sew.

&#8220;When I was eight or nine years old, my grandmother came in with a needle and thread and went, here. I thought this is the most uncoolest thing a person could do. At that age, it&#8217;s like that was the last thing I want to do. I think at that point they knew there was something inside of me, and I didn&#8217;t know it. They knew it.&#8221;

Bush graduated from East High School in 1976 and left Portsmouth, headed to Las Vegas where he began his career in entertainment and fashion with partner Dennis Tompkins. Together they became known as Tompkins & Bush who went on to influence the fashion industry in a way they couldn&#8217;t even imagine. Bush served as Michael Jackson&#8217;s longtime personal fashion designer for 25 years. Creating the fashions for the King of Pop was a collaborative effort which included great creativity, showmanship and a bit of engineering.

Bush&#8217;s book &#8220;The King of Style: Dressing Michael Jackson&#8221; is an art-driven book which not only chronicles Bush&#8217;s life with the King of Pop and his many fashions but gives an inside look into the personal anecdotes and life he led while creating some of the most innovative and famous clothing in entertainment. The book has recently won the Gold Medal at this year&#8217;s Independent Publisher Book Awards and the 2013 Gold Medal at the PubWest Design Awards for best Holiday/Specialty Book.

&#8220;I just had 3,000 people in Japan stand in line to see me, and I&#8217;m just the guy that made the clothes. But the visual is so strong,&#8221; Bush said. &#8220;You&#8217;re always asking in the back of your mind, &#8216;how did I get here?&#8217; And you always have those memories of Millhuff&#8217;s and East High School, and taking a home-ec class in &#8216;76 with Mrs. Odle here at school.&#8221;

On Friday he paid a visit back to the K-12 student of Sciotoville schools.

&#8220;This embracement is amazing. I&#8217;ve been all over the world promoting the book and I&#8217;ve had great receptions, but nothing like this. I have had my head eight stories in the center of Times Square, on the Jumbotron, but that was a fleeting moment. My name on the wall will be forever,&#8221; he said.

The students listened with quiet interest as Bush told stories about working with Jackson, and all of the other celebrities he&#8217;s worked with during his successful career &#8212; like Elizabeth Taylor and Britney Spears. But the crowd went absolutely wild when Bush revealed he turned down an offer by Justin Bieber so he could be in Scioto County this week.

&#8220;It&#8217;s a fantastic journey, and it can happen. Just surround yourself with support teams and it can happen to you because it happened to me,&#8221; Bush said.

Today Bush will sign the Portsmouth Floodwall of Fame, joining other local celebrities such as Roy Rogers, American operatic soprano Kathleen Battle, former Major League Baseball&#8217;s Al Oliver and Country music singer/songwriter Earl Thomas Conley. The Wall of Fame Star ceremony today kicks off a week-long book signing tour which will also go to Dayton, Cincinnati, Columbus. He will be signing books Saturday on the campus of Shawnee State University.

http://www.mydailytribune.com/news/...ity-designer-returns-home-to-East-High-School
 
Thank you Mr. Bush for writing this book. I like reading about the man Mike. I can see the videos of him performing (I never had the opportunity to see him on tour), as Michael Jackson the performer,but I want to know Mike behind the scene. I want that book !
 
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