Bill
Belew and his design team made an outstanding contribution to the
definition of Elvis Presley's personal style on stage and off.
Belew designed the now iconic black leather suit Elvis wore for the
key components of his all important 1968 "comeback"
television special, along with his other outfits for the show.
The collaboration continued through the 1970s, including the famous
jumpsuits Elvis wore on stage, most notably the American Eagle
jumpsuit made for the global television concert event Elvis: Aloha
from Hawaii, via Satellite.
The first jumpsuits were simple in their ornamentation – for
instance, some with metal accents, some with long fringe. All had
long coordinating belts knotted and dangling to the side – some in
cloth with ornamentation to match the suit, some with fringe, some
in macramé. In the early 70s, the jumpsuits evolved with
increasingly elaborate metal and rhinestone studding, matching capes
and coordinating big-buckle leather belts. From a point in 1974 on,
the jumpsuit designs featured flashier and more intricate, depicting animals:
Eagles, Tiger, Dragon,
Phoenix, Zebra – and the capes were phased out.
Today woman's jumpsuits are all the rage
Britney Spears wore a white jumpsuit ala Elvis Presley for her Vegas Tour
