Your Style: Elton John's fashion through the years in pictures | Fashion
From leopardskin trilbies and leather suits to Donald Duck costumes and pink mohawks, the musicians style choices have always been eye-catching. With the publication of his memoir, we look at some of his most memorable looks
Your Style: Elton John's fashion through the years – in pictures
From leopardskin trilbies and leather suits to Donald Duck costumes and pink mohawks, the musician’s style choices have always been eye-catching. With the publication of his memoir, we look at some of his most memorable looks
Main image: Elton John at the Poplar Creek music theatre, Illinois, 1986. Photograph: Paul Natkin/Getty Images
Fri 18 Oct 2019 09.26 EDT Last modified on Fri 18 Oct 2019 11.53 EDT
This is the outfit John wore for a photoshoot for the release of his first single in the 60s. He had started to be influenced in his dress by his friend Tony King, a very flamboyant music industry figure. In the book, he says: “I wore a fake fur coat and a mock-leopardskin trilby hat. For some reason, the sight of me clad in this striking ensemble failed to galvanise record buyers into the shops.”
Photographed by George Wilkes in 1972 wearing double denim covered in embroidered patches. His professional stage costumer was Annie Reavey, who designed a dozen outfits for his tours of the US and UK the same year.
In designer Bob Mackie’s sequinned reimagining of the Los Angeles Dodgers uniform, with ‘Elton’ emblazoned on the back. He wore it for a concert at the Dodger Stadium in 1975.
A Statue of Liberty costume for a portrait session in New York City, circa 1980. However, he first dressed up as the Statue of Liberty for a gig in Massachusetts in 1976, for the US bicentennial.
This was a costume made by Mackie for a Central Park gig in 1980 – half a million people attended. “There were two problems with it,” says John in his book. “First, I couldn’t walk in it – it had huge duck feet, like diver’s flippers. Second, I couldn’t sit down in it either – it had an enormous padded bum that meant the best I could do was perch on the piano stool. I tried to play Your Song, but I couldn’t stop laughing.”
On stage in 1986 in another Mackie costume, featuring a pink mohawk. John originally approached the designer by asking him if he could create some outfits similar to those he had been creating for Cher.
Photograph: Lynn Goldsmith/Corbis/VCG via Getty Images
Attending Planet Hollywood’s launch party in New York, 1991, with Donatella Versace, in a purple silk Versace suit and matching Nike cap. The following year, Gianni Versace designed the artwork for Elton’s 24th studio album, The One, as well as the wardrobe for the world tour that followed.
Dressed as King Louis XIV for his 50th birthday party at the Hammersmith Palais in 1997. He wore a wig that was three-feet tall, topped with a miniature Spanish warship and cannon.
Between 2003 and 2010, John’s stage costumes were custom-made by Japanese fashion designer Yohji Yamamoto, including those he wore for The Red Piano residency in Las Vegas.
