Behind the Seams with the King of Pop, Michael Jackson's costumes -

These Michael Jackson costumes are displayed on mannequin forms rented from Mannequin Madness.

Of course no one cares about the mannequins, but this exhibit would not be nearly as impactful if the costumes were on a hanger.The costumes were on display at the Hard Rock Cafe in New York City, where Michael Bush, the creator of most of the costumes worn by the King of Pop, was signing his book “The King of Style.”

The book gives fans a look at the threads that Michael wore on and off the stage, including costumes, accessories, shoes and more.

Bush lets readers in on his and Michael’s collaborative process, sharing photo’s from behind the scenes. (One more way folks are trying to reap profits from a dead man)

Here is the author (the bearded white man in the middle) surrounded by fans of Michael Jackson, holding the book. And once again our mannequins in the background.

While we often provide mannequins for auction houses displaying celebrity attire, none created as much drama as Michael Jackson. (Just to name drop – our mannequins have displayed gowns worn by Elizabeth Taylor, Whitney Houston, Cher and Princess Diana)

We received a frantic call two days before the book signing from the public relations company handling this event. They needed 3 dress forms and 1 mannequin to display items such as this on from the “Bad” video.

What complicated matters is that Michael had a 28″ waist – most adult male mannequins are 30″ waist. If we went with a teen age mannequin, then it would be too short. And they didn’t want a mannequin with a “face” they wanted it to be headless. Special requests are not that unusual for celebrity attire (even though they are dead they still have high maintenance needs) But special requests that occur at the last minute – now that is a different matter.

I should have charged a special handling/rush fee, but even I got caught up in Jacksonmania and bent over backwards to accommodate their needs without extra fees. But that is why I am claiming some bragging rights!
Julian’s Auction house in Beverly Hills will auction off some of the King of Pop’s costumes later this year.

Note: One Michael Jackson costume factoid we discovered.Remember the “Smooth Criminal ” video where Michael leaned over in a 45 degree angle? I always thought this was a special effect created with technology.

Not so. There were special shoes designed to make that happen.Bush and his partner Dennis Tompkins spent three months producing the shoes. Working with an engineer, they created a special pair of boots masked by what looked like ordinary loafers.

When attached to bolts on the ground, the shoes allowed Jackson to lean at a deep angle. Jackson was so impressed that he protected the design with a patent, including Bush and Tompkins’ names on it. Estimated value: $6,000 to $8,000.