With most events being cancelled or postponed, this will be the first of a few posts of wonderful exhibitions I went to before the current situation. Enjoy!
The Enduring Appeal of The King
As a long-time fan of Elvis’s music and individuality, I just had to see ‘Elvis on Tour: The Exhibition’ at the O2 in London. Even after his death in 1977, he remains the world’s best-selling solo artist and still has the most number-one albums and number-one singles in the UK.
But like all great artists, it was about more than just his music. Elvis’ unique look was always a big part of his appeal and this exhibition (which opened on 3 November 2017), marked the fortieth anniversary of the legendary rock and roll singer’s death.
Elvis on the road
The exhibition gave an insight into Elvis’ life and career and in particular, his life on tour. There were over 200 items from the Graceland archives and the Graceland mansion itself. These included costumes Elvis wore on tour between 1969-1977, over 35 of his most recognisable jumpsuits, original costume sketches and a trunk of silk scarves he would hand out to audiences. His adoring fans would have been thrilled to see the actual guitars he played in his 1970s tours, the highlight being a prestigious Gretzsch Country Gentleman guitar that he played in Las Vegas in 1969.
Stage presence
‘The King’ was a showman as well as an enormous musical talent. His dancing style was wild and passionate and the world had never seen anything like it before. It’s not surprising that his stagewear would be equally dramatic and extravagant. Elvis had a strong personal sense of style and carefully chose his stage outfits, even at the early stages of his career.
For many people, jumpsuits are synonymous with Elvis. The idea of wearing a jumpsuit on stage was the idea of Bill Belew who headed Elvis’ stagewear design team. Belew had been inspired by the high collars of the Napoleonic era as these would frame and draw attention to Elvis’ face. Jumpsuits were practical as they gave Elvis greater freedom of movement on stage. The reason that many of the jumpsuits were white were due to the stage lighting conditions in Las Vegas at that time. Elvis wearing white meant that the lights could be changed easily and truly capture Elvis while he was performing, whereas Elvis’ favourite colours blue and red would have absorbed these less.
“You could be daring as a designer and put anything on Elvis and he could make it work. And the simplest outfits that didn’t seem particularly remarkable on the rack transformed into something spectacular when Elvis put them on. He was that beautiful and powerful a presence.“
— Bill Belew
Here is a selection of jumpsuits and capes that most stood out to me.
