Designing Elvis Presley‘s iconic stage outfits was one of the most fun and challenging aspects of Bill Belew’s job. He walked a delicate line between making them both fabulous and functional. However, one of Presley’s heaviest and most expensive jumpsuits once caused the King of Rock and Roll to fall over.
Elvis Presley took a tumble from the weight of one of his heaviest jumpsuits
As the 1970s progressed, Elvis Presley’s jumpsuits became more extravagant and heavier. His audiences expected more from the King of Rock and Roll, and his costume designer Bill Belew delivered, but with a cost.
In an interview with Elvis Australia, Belew discussed the many outfits he crafted for Presley. He began working with him in 1968, creating the most iconic looks of the entertainer’s career.
However, one outfit in particular caused the King of Rock and Roll to topple over. This...
Elvis Presley took a tumble from the weight of one of his heaviest jumpsuits
As the 1970s progressed, Elvis Presley’s jumpsuits became more extravagant and heavier. His audiences expected more from the King of Rock and Roll, and his costume designer Bill Belew delivered, but with a cost.
In an interview with Elvis Australia, Belew discussed the many outfits he crafted for Presley. He began working with him in 1968, creating the most iconic looks of the entertainer’s career.
However, one outfit in particular caused the King of Rock and Roll to topple over. This...
- 2/1/2024
- by Lucille Barilla
- Showbiz Cheat Sheet
In “Elvis,” there are three transformational moments that define Elvis Presley (Austin Butler) as the King of Rock: his rambunctious 1954 performance at The Louisiana Hayride, where he was discovered by the innovative yet overprotective manager, Colonel Tom Parker (Tom Hanks); his surprising ’68 NBC “Comeback Special,” where he rediscovered his rock ‘n’ roll roots; and the start of his legendary run at Las Vegas’ International Hotel, where he launched his final, glam era in ’69.
What Butler wears during each of these transformational moments — a pink-and-black suit, tight black leather-on-leather outfit, and white jumpsuit, respectively — helps convey Presley’s rock persona in the ’50s, ’60s, and ’70s. “What I came away with about Elvis is what a singular star maker he was, and how unbounded by convention he was,” costume designer Catherine Martin told IndieWire.
“You just don’t think of [his birthplace of] Tupelo [Mississippi] as being a style center of the world,” said Martin,...
What Butler wears during each of these transformational moments — a pink-and-black suit, tight black leather-on-leather outfit, and white jumpsuit, respectively — helps convey Presley’s rock persona in the ’50s, ’60s, and ’70s. “What I came away with about Elvis is what a singular star maker he was, and how unbounded by convention he was,” costume designer Catherine Martin told IndieWire.
“You just don’t think of [his birthplace of] Tupelo [Mississippi] as being a style center of the world,” said Martin,...
- 6/28/2022
- by Bill Desowitz
- Indiewire
Click here to read the full article.
For Oscar-winning costume designer Catherine Martin, creating the looks for the new biopic Elvis came down to sexuality, the swerve of a hip, and a little bit of shake, rattle and roll. She says of working with director Baz Luhrmann, her husband and longtime collaborator: “Baz wanted to make sure contemporary audiences could connect to the rebel nature of Elvis Presley [played by Austin Butler] and both his innate sexuality and the sexuality of his movement connected with his body underneath his clothes. We needed to be sensitive to both the historical veracity and the meaning for the clothes that Elvis wore.” Those clothes were often, she notes, “highly controversial.”
The Warner Bros. film, due out June 24, is a tale of three decades in the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll’s life, beginning with him as a maverick crooner of the 1950s who leaves Memphis...
For Oscar-winning costume designer Catherine Martin, creating the looks for the new biopic Elvis came down to sexuality, the swerve of a hip, and a little bit of shake, rattle and roll. She says of working with director Baz Luhrmann, her husband and longtime collaborator: “Baz wanted to make sure contemporary audiences could connect to the rebel nature of Elvis Presley [played by Austin Butler] and both his innate sexuality and the sexuality of his movement connected with his body underneath his clothes. We needed to be sensitive to both the historical veracity and the meaning for the clothes that Elvis wore.” Those clothes were often, she notes, “highly controversial.”
The Warner Bros. film, due out June 24, is a tale of three decades in the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll’s life, beginning with him as a maverick crooner of the 1950s who leaves Memphis...
- 6/24/2022
- by Cathy Whitlock
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Director Baz Luhrmann hoped “Elvis” would be much more than a biopic of Elvis Presley — he wanted to capture a time with a social history of this captivating figure that also told the story of America.
Starring Austin Butler as Elvis and Tom Hanks as Colonel Tom Parker, his manager, “Elvis” spans two decades. The backdrop is America’s Southern bible belt, the evolving cultural landscape, and the rock ‘n’ roller’s meteoric rise to stardom.
Costume designer Catherine Martin explains there are two costume styles in the movie — “recreations of costumes that existed, and the other fictionalized outfits that are a synthesis of outfits that he actually had that help tell the story.”
The pink suit rockabilly suit Butler sports was just one of 90 costumes he wore. Like all of the costumes Martin designed, it had to facilitate movement and serve the practicalities of filmmaking. “The pink suit is...
Starring Austin Butler as Elvis and Tom Hanks as Colonel Tom Parker, his manager, “Elvis” spans two decades. The backdrop is America’s Southern bible belt, the evolving cultural landscape, and the rock ‘n’ roller’s meteoric rise to stardom.
Costume designer Catherine Martin explains there are two costume styles in the movie — “recreations of costumes that existed, and the other fictionalized outfits that are a synthesis of outfits that he actually had that help tell the story.”
The pink suit rockabilly suit Butler sports was just one of 90 costumes he wore. Like all of the costumes Martin designed, it had to facilitate movement and serve the practicalities of filmmaking. “The pink suit is...
- 6/23/2022
- by Jazz Tangcay
- Variety Film + TV
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