The Man Behind Michael Jackson's Most ICONIC Looks | Unsung Designer Bill Whitten | the detail.
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 1 มี.ค. 2023
- Bill Whitten was the man behind many iconic looks in popular music, including Michael Jackson's most distinctive ensembles during his dizzying heights of 'Thriller-mania'. The two collaborated for many years and cultivated together a look that was entirely unique to Jackson.
However, their union eventually went soar, ending in a dramatic firing and tense legal battle which led to Michael Jackson smudging out Whitten's name when it came his creative involvement in his career. So who is the man behind Jackson's glitzing looks? And what is left of Bill Whitten's impact on fashion today?
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I'm glad you guys are putting the spotlight on Bill. He's definitely an unsung fashion guru who doesn't get enough acknowledgement for his contributions to Michael's fashion and celebrity fashion in general.
What about Michael Bush
Glad that the man responsible for the iconic beaded military jackets that Michael wore early in his Thriller years can finally be recognized. I had heard of him in passing, but didn't know alot about him. Thx for posting this.
Thank you for watching!
responsible? dont underestimate jacksons control over his designs... this video accuses jackson of lying about his own ideas to take undue credit.... because of a forklift accident.... jackson gave bill strong creative direction for what he wanted
@@chazbayleychill down, take a breath
Thank you for giving the designer due credit. Really great.
Thank you!
Indeed. My favourite creation of his would be the light up Thriller jacket used in the Asian leg of the Bad World Tour.
Bill Whitten was a Visionary. I have a passion for Fashion & call his work "Wearable Art". Many of his Designs are true Masterpieces which is why several are showcased in museums. Michael Jackson and EWF wore some fantastic & iconic pieces! Thank you for putting the Spotlight on Bill Whitten!💖
Thank you! Surprisingly little about him
I never knew about Mr Whitten! Thank you for this! 🙏🏼 I love Michael’s looks in the early/mid 80s. I adore sparkle/sequins on clothing, and Michael rocked it flawlessly.
Our pleasure!
I definitely knew about Bill Whitten but I didn’t know why he and Michael stopped working together. And I didn’t know he designed all the outfits for music artists like Neil Diamond, Elton John, Stevie Wonder, The Commodores, and others. This is great music history, fashion history, and Black history all in one. Thanks for this @thedetail
Thank you! I thought so also
Please lord oh mightly lets not ignore the fact that michael had MAJOR influence over the designers work. sparkles, white socks, his hats, the glove, an affinity for military stlye.... jackson took artists like this and commissioned them to follow his blueprint... thats why any one from quincy jones to bill, had thier most successful career high by far while jackson was in the creative directors seat. The numbers or concrete. Just look at a Quincy Jones record without Michael Jackson on it. His best achievement was selling 1 million copies on back on the block and even though he worked with some of the industry‘s greatest legends, he still only managed 1 million copies in 1989 and that’s even after Michael has made in my household name with three of the biggest selling albums of all time. Quincy Jones was selling hundreds of millions of albums with Michael Jackson in the driving seat the same goes for this designer and many other musicians and producers who worked with Michael Jackson throughout his career. It is clear numerically no one ever achieves the numbers in sales and success without him in the driving seat. This is numerical evidence that the main difference between selling 1 million albums and selling 100 million albums, even though both have the same producer on each project must be the artist themselves. In this case. The difference is Michael Jackson
this. sad seeing people still discredit Michael, even making videos solely for that. but people familiar with Michael‘s work will always know the truth
people never want to give Michael credit it’s crazy. as if it would hurt them.
@@dollykidd it feels like this channel is constantly doing it. The guy that created the channel isn’t a Michael fan, he just wanted to tap into his market.
@@daakykeky91 there’s definitely an agenda to discredit Michael for the super talent that he was, but even more so to destroy his image as a messiah like presence and that started in 1993.
@@chazbayley like idk why the ginger guy who owns this channel think that people can’t do research on their own. Bush wrote a whole book on Michael being the creative genius behind his fashion. It’s very well documented.
MJ read literature about dressing like a king and it got him interested in fashion. He would go to museums for inspiration. The “fallout“ MJ and Whitten are supposed to have had is exaggerated as well as Michael diminishing him. Michael never had a problem crediting people. He knows the pain of being discredited, the book “man in the music“ is all about that. If anything, it was MJ who would get discredited and this vid proves my point. It doesn’t even make sense for him to diminish one designer but not the next, given Bush and Tompkins did exactly the same thing. He hired them because they could make better fashion for performances. MJ hate channels like this won’t go on for long though, i reported him to the MJ online team
Well, thedetail's getting some hidden Michael lore. This is all new to me & I'm a major Jackson fan.
There's always something more to learn. You never know it all. So Michael Bush & Dennis Tompkins came later then.
Bill Whitten. Will never forget his name again. And Michael was right to distance himself after that forklift incident.
Anything else could've been forgiven but people got hurt in that nonsense.
STILL Michael cannot & should not have tried to diminish Bill Whitten's influence on his iconic looks.
Thank you for this proper history lesson!
This was all new to me as well!
WOW this man created some of the most legendary looks of that century!! from Victory to Bad and even other celebrities! He definitely deserves his flowers AND a coffee table book ASAP! Thanks for bringing a spotlight on him. All designers of color deserve some recognition & spotlight so i thoroughly appreciate this video and always enjoy your other videos as well! 👏🏾👏🏾
PS: Did he also create some of LaToyas glistening looks from that time too?
He worked with Janet and many showbiz families at the time! Thank you, loved researching him
Michael had the most exquisite taste in fashion it makes him unique Which is why I love him so. Bill got so lucky.
I know Michael Bush and Dennis Thompkins are usually preferred by fans but I’m Bill Whitten all day over here. His work on the Destiny and Triumph Tours was just 😗🤌🏾
yea i literally left a comment before this being like What about Michael Bush
Every jacket was iconic
My dad worked for Bill when I was a little kid. My dad brought me to work with him so I could meet him and tour his home studio. He told an amazing story about being on acid during a brush fire in the hills around his house that I’ll never forget. I thought he was so cool and it was amazing being surrounded by all the wild clothes in the workshop. RIP, Bill. Thank you for giving him the credit and attention he deserves.
Wow that is such a cool story!
Ever jacket is Michael Jackson iconic to this days now this generation follow the design of MJ Jacket 👑❤️🔥
Michael was always creative and his outfits were iconic. He was anyway a very handsome man and really could be a fashion top model.
He looked like a monster not human
A shit racist and abuser, thats for sure
He designed Michael's best looks and him looking his best...He came out with the leotard I was cringing 😂 but the 70s and 80s MJ for me and my family --> Supreme
I always felt that Michael looked kinda odd with those Zebra Stripped pants during the Victory performance in Kansas City. It just didn't seem like his style. Randy was rocking them well though!
I agree, you could often kinda see where maybe they had a difference in taste. I loved his Bad military looks though, glad to hear Bill was the designer for those as well as so many of the iconic early looks. The We Are The World jacket though 😮💨
Michael looks amazing with his outfits and how he looks beautiful ❤ with them
More unsung Black history, once again. A Black designer was behind all those iconic late 70s and 80s looks. Wow! Thanks for the informative video.
Thank you!
Bill Whitton made almost all the iconic looks of 70's celebrities. EW&F costumes also were outstanding 👏🏽
it’s great to learn the stories behind the visuals. this video answered one of my long held questions about the ‘victory’ tour. team sparkle ✨ here😊 it’s worth remembering that the ‘thriller’ and ‘beat it’ jackets also contributed to michael’s iconic image, and were designed by others. I don’t think michael ever looked better than he did in the early eighties. it was all about magic 🪄 the stars ✨ just lined up.
Mj will never ever be matched by any artist. To do what he done without social media is truly mind blowing. I know the Beatles and elvis hit the same heights as mj did but I believe mj did it in a unique way that made it a worldwide phenomenon. The most decorated artist and the highest selling album of all time whilst keeping relevancy through all the court trials and allegations and still came back fighting up until his death. A true artist with an extraordinary personality filled with love passion for what he did. Rip mj you are truly missed!
Michael had Bill❤we have Balenciaga🤮 we don’t know what’s behind Billl’s job went downhill. I don’t want to speculate, it could be mental health issues it could be another disease but we have to give him credit, the jackets and the iconic glove were behind amazing. my favourite is the jacket Michael wore at Grammys is my favourite.He literally look like a king which he was indeed❤
I'm so blessed to have known Bill Whitten! And his work!
His outfits were amazing.
i always loved his clothes, he inspired my style so much when i was young
It's amazing that I heard very little about this person because he seemed like he knew what he was doing at first. Another good video.
Thank you! Was always interested in learning more about Whitten
Bill was def a genious ahead of his Time.
*”Yankee Doodle Dandie”* Lmao ! 😂
Everybody and i mean everybody wanted to dress and dance like MJ in the early-mid 80s, he was the definition of cool and hip back then, you would see beat it and thriller jackets EVERYWHERE in '84 lol MJ will always have a special place in the heart of every member of generation X, long live the 80s!💗
He was an incredible designer and he needs global recognition! Great video!
Thank you, Couldn't agree more! ✨
Rest In Peace Michael Jackson and Bill Whitten!!!!
I love Michael’s outfits so much! Everything that he wore was iconic❤️🔥✨🤩😍
This video was very informative. Never heard of Bill Whitten before. There is a book called Dressing Michael Jackson I think it’s also very interesting, I will definitely buy it.✨
I’m a huge Michael fan but a lot of you are obsessive & think that crediting anyone outside of Michael for anything is sacrilege. Michael surrounding himself with geniuses in other fields doesn’t make him any less of a genius, it actually magnifies his genius.
I get giving the guy his dues and the role he played, but I can understand Michael wanting to not associate much with Bill. The dude's carelessness got people seriously injured and could've brought unwanted bad publicity than Michael was already facing with the press around the Bad era. And seeing his behavior after he was fired didn't help him much.
I love fashion and the way Michael Jackson dressed was so awesome.
I can’t believe I didn’t know about Bill! I feel bad but happy this video came out. I only knew about the designers he had that spoke after his death. Love to hear his early looks were the incredible work of another Black visionary!
Glad you enjoyed this video
I always wanted to know who designed his clothes prior to Michael Bush and Dennis Tompkins. This is great!
Thank you!
I can’t wait for the bio pic 😭
I really enjoyed this story. I’ve never heard it before. That’s why the detail is my fav page on all things Michael. Also l, I feel awful about the way Bill was treated. We should’ve heard more about this man. Thanks for sharing. ❤
Glad you enjoyed it!
It is difficult for anyone to carry off that much glitz but Michael Jackson was not anybody. He already was a shining star with a dazzling smile and deep introspective eyes and a perfect body.
Shout out to mike and bill , im not a fan of crystals but what they did was amazing
I never heard of Bill Whiten! Great story! He really had Micheal looking fantastic through the years. It's sad that their working relationship soured on the end. But Michael had a good reason to fire him... It's a wonder no one was killed.
5:49 Dear God the amount of sparkles together is blinding
lmao
Mj's whole life is intriguing
man, this channel has everything!
You go in to such depth. Never heard about this. Thank you very much. Graet video!
Thanks, I enjoyed learning about Bill Whitten, but also feel like there is also so much not known about him.
greatly appreciate these vids!
My pleasure!
This video is one of the interesting video I’ve seen on TH-cam lately.
I’m not particularly a MJ fan but he TRULY was a GENIUS and someone special and he expressed a lot of he’s genius by his clothing and outfits, which was one of the best way to do.
To me he’s fashion style made he’s Legend Status WAY MORE bigger than what it actually was.
And I’m extremely surprised with the fact the literally no one ( after him ) did the same as much as him.
We have some icons like Lady Gaga who did it at the beginning of her career but didn’t continue.
The only one I think think of is Beyoncé with her famous signature Leotard stage costume which is a very iconic move but it is just for the stage. However MJ did it ON and OFF the stage and this made him look like he was ALWAYS in character, almost like a inhuman superhero.
This was a GENIUS marketing move, even tho he was always seen as inhumane by people and maybe lost some sense of reality.
bill whitten was ignored yet again at the weekend, when the estate held a ‘king of style’ round table based on michael’s iconic fashion. they briefly spoke about the glove, rhinestones, black cardigan, without mentioning the designer 🙁
You guys did it yet again!!! Amazing content. And a perfect close to Black History Month ❤️❤️❤️❤️
Thank you!
I actually got to meet Michael Bush he signed my dressing MJ book. This whole time I was thinking Mr Bush created everything.
Ty for this
Michael's clothes are simply fascinating, such a sense of style, it's just legendary. I'm surprised at the people who worked with Michael and then sued him. In my opinion, this is terrible.😭😭😭❤❤❤👑👑👑👑👑
Amazing thanks 🙏
Being so young In Michael prime, I thought his clothes just magically appeared on him😅😂 Now that I’m getting older, and learning from this channel, it took a a lot to become the Pop God🙏🏽 Great video as well!
Thank you!
I enjoy your content. I'm a big fan of your channel.
Thank you!
I know his fashion influenced me as a child jackets with zippers and one glove on his hand had myself as well as my childhood friends all wearing the same thing to school . LOL all of us,kids , trying to moon walk like MJ around the school singing the words to" beat it ".😆 Those were the days.
Interesting about the designer. I still often notice elements from Michael's wardrobe in fashion trends...👍👍👍
So true!
Thanks !
Michael didn’t even discredit or diminish him. It’s not like he said “i designed it“ or “i’m not sure who designed it“ he just simply wanted to tell the significant part of the story, that being that it belongs to his mother. Who tells a story about a piece of clothing and goes (name) designed it? That‘s such an exaggeration. Especially considering he never did it to any of his other designers. He had no reason to hate this man lol tone it down.
But it really didn't come from his mother bill designed that jacket
@@telikaandfam With all due respect, my friend-I don't recommend that anyone go around online, on social media, or in their everyday lives claiming or telling others that Bill W constructed/made the original Billie Jean jacket from the Motown 25th Anniversary Special in some “matter of fact” or “this is the true story” type of way.
The *only* thing even remotely mentioned/offered throughout the video in regards to Bill supposedly “designing that original Billie Jean jacket,” instead of it belonging to Katherine, which is what quite literally *anybody and everybody* close to Mike in one way or another has proclaimed, is the narrator verbally claiming that Bill designed it and this Veronica Manoyan *[no offense to her at all]* saying, “if it was Michael’s, Bill never told us that.”
In no fathomable, rational, or objective way is any of what I just highlighted/mentioned even slightly enough to deduce that Bill designed that jacket himself, lol.
It is honestly pretty irresponsible and in poor taste for the person behind this channel to put that claim out there as if it's an objective fact while simultaneously having nothing to support it.
What museum is shown at 15:10?
These looks were so iconic, shame that they cut ties working together but these looks will forever be remembered by fans.
The GRAMMY Museum in Los Angeles.
okay Im 51 years old female. Live in NJ love NYC and always wondered who made the Stage wear for actors and musicians . thank you I found this very interesting
Our pleasure!
5:49 Got Damn! That shit looks like a glitch in the matrix 😂
I don’t know what you think, but the clothes he wore during the Bad tour/era are the most iconic✌️👑
I like the bad tour outfits so much.
No thriller was way better
We love you, Michael❤ for ever and ever
مبدع ❤️🖤
Your channel is very great
Thank you so much 😀
Thanks for this illuminating hidden story! Wonder what caused Whitten to go south? Sad and that he made things worse by attempting to sue MJ. MJ would have been so forgiving, but clearly Whitten pushed him over the edge. Sad story. But also so fascinating! And how MJ gravitated to old England styles, as well as furniture & antiques for Wonderland home.
So you believe whatever you here smh 🤦🏿♀️ bunch of lies smh 🤦🏿♀️
awesome! I didn´t know about him, just about the other 2 guys that came after he was fired
Wow I had never even heard of this designer. Only the more recent ones of MJ.
I like what John Paul Gultia (not sure about the spelling) did for MJ
Magic
The Greatest of All Time
I Miss Michael So Much.
Cool history,❗💯🔥
Great 👍👍👌
I love you so much mj
Michael Jackson's style of fashion was incredible plus I met one of his backup dancers Bruno Falcon he told me that he was the inspiration for Michael Jackson's look in the eighties
Michael new what he wanted, and ge got it to a 10th degree. I love the fact he didn't use major design houses like Versace, Gucci all that often. He gatime. ve people chances and kept them around for a long periods of time another example is Michael Bush
His waistline during these eras was 27.5.
Good 👏👏💝💕
I love you Michael Jackson king
Hi! Will you ever make a video of MJ’s close relay with Bill Bray? 😊
Probably!
Я не знала о Биле интересное видео но Майкл стал законодателем моды, узнаваемым из 10000 такого стиля как у него нет,другим остается только его повторять но они не будут Майклом❤ даже рядом с ним стоять.Неповторимый❤
Even in this era,I want to wear a sequin jacket so bad.
7:29 "we're gonna make the exact same designs, but beaded"
Just beaded... beaded
Beaded... Beaded
Disney prince costumes style
13:01
Can someone please tell me what performance is this?
Its a pepsi commercial from 1987
Love you too baby
❤
💯🔥👍
Wow, this was good. Never heard of him. He must’ve been under stress when playing with the fork lift . That was a bad decision .
Iconic 😂
Reminds me of today's tech icons, you know, the ones that eat fruit or dress up in costumes and throw out suggestions that brilliant engineers have to create, else get fired. Those unsung heroes.
can anyone tell me where that clip @13:02-13:13 is from off MJ?
I think it’s from a commercial.
Pepsi commercial from 1987
So Michael co designed the clothing. If mj brought the idea to him bill just made what he asked.
MJ teve dois estilista
I love the red one . Can I have it cause I want to be his retainer
Just bead it, bead it, just bead it…
I had too
On the subtitles it kept coming up as beat it
Haha!
I’m so glad your channel exists. I love MJ. Can’t get enough of learning about him.
🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰
We need MJ 2002 video !!!
Tomorrow
Michael ficava lindo maravilhoso com aquelas vestuário digno de um rei