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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, a tiger, a
dragon, phoenixes, a zebra – and the capes were phased out.
Today, the jumpsuits look dated to some of the general public, but
Elvis fans and pop culture historians know that these outfits were
way cool in the 1970s. "When Elvis began wearing the jumpsuits,
he and designer
Bill
Belew created a new style that many popular entertainers of the time
incorporated into their own stage-wear," stated Graceland/Elvis
Presley Enterprises archives director, Angie Marchese. "The
craftsmanship of
Bill
Belew and his team - including Gene Doucette, who is a master with
embroidery – was exquisite and the designs were cutting edge. Each
Jumpsuit had its own special work of art."
"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. As a wardrobe designer Bob Mackie had a
perfect muse and a perfect canvas in
Cher
. I got to have that in Elvis." -
Bill
Belew
Bill
Belew played a special role in Elvis history and was a beloved
friend to all of us at Elvis Presley Enterprises. We will miss
him.
In the 70s it was fashion
icon. Today woman's jumpsuits are the rage
Britney Spears wore a white jumpsuit ala Elvis Presley for her Vegas Tour
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I'm never wear a Armani tie on stage just a mike cord