Costumes for This Is It

Michael Jackson rehearsed about 18 songs for This Is It, each with its own outfit. Some outfits were
similar to the ones used on BAD, Dangerous and HIStory tours, some however were dramatically
different.

Michael Bush and Zaldy

Michael Jackson had worked with the costume designer Michael Bush for 31 years and, even though
he called Bush also for "This Is It", Travis Payne decided to call also a New York designer called
Zaldy, which accepted the task.

Differences from the older costumes

For this costumes Zaldy and Bush used the most advanced technology. Michael Bush affirmed that it
was the first time he put crystals on the Billie Jean costume and that during the working you must
wear sunglasses because the crystals reflected lots of light. Zaldy also told that he had worked with
Swarovski and that he created the "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'" costume with 300000 crystals.

Costumes for the Show

Opening Songs Outfit (Wanna Be Startin Somethin', Jam, Drill/They Don't Care About Us, and
Human Nature/Stranger In Moscow)

This outfit was inspired by the Light Man intro sequence which reminded Zaldy of a robot. The outfit
is made of 300,000-3,000,000 Swarowski crystals woven throughout a jacket and pants, and also
included a pair of shoes, spats, and sunglasses. The shoulders were a last minute decision and were
Michael's idea. Michael was only ever able to try on the pants and shoulders before he died, which
brought a smile to his face. The outfit was completed following Michael's death. Inspired by Jackson's
adoration of the dancers' opening outfits, Bush and Thompkins created a similar jacket for him as a
backup opening outfit, except they ‘iced’ it. The jacket remained unfinished.
Smooth Criminal

The This Is It Smooth Criminal outfit was designed by Michael Bush and his longtime partner, Dennis
Thompkins. Unlike previous tours, where Michael only wore the jacket, fedora, and anti-gravity
shoes, Michael would've worn a complete recreation of the original outfit from his 1988 anthology
film, "Moonwalker". It was one of the few This Is It outfits that Michael wore in their entirety. In
addition to destining Michael's outfit for this song, Bush and Thompkins also designed the suits worn
by the backup dancers.

The Way You Make Me Feel

Michael Bush handled the shirt for "The Way You Make Me Feel". Like the original outfit, it was a
blue shirt with a white cloth belt. As the performance of the song for This Is It would've featured the
intro from the 1988 Grammy Awards, the outfit would've most likely featured a fedora, as well. The
shirt was made of China silk and had heat-pressed designs of crowns, a lion, and a cherub, all of
which were classic pop regalia images. Michael can be seen wearing this shirt for one of the song's
rehearsals in the film. As we all know, this still was one of the hottest outfits ever, besides Wanna Be
Startin Somethin'.
Jackson 5 Medley/Off The Wall Medley

Zaldy primarily designed the J5 Medley outfit, which was a shiny, purple suit with a dip-dye of bugle
beads and crystals covering the shoulders and waist. The white dress shirt was velcroid up the back
so it would be easier to take off. The tie was made of metal and shaped like the peace sign. After
being informed of Michael's love for spats, Zaldy made the decision to add those to the outfit. The
original idea for the outfit's footwear was a boot with spats built onto them. However, they were
ultimately deemed too rigid and proved too difficult for Michael to get in and out of. Zaldy instead
took a pair of loafers and added spats to them that were flexible and velcroid up the back. A backup
pair of purple loafers were an alternative. Michael never saw the completed version of the outfit.
However, he did wear an early version of the outfit that lacked the beads.

I Just Can't Stop Loving You

The " I Just Can't Stop Loving You" jacket was made by Bush and Thompkins, as noted in Bush's
book, "The King of Style". The golden fabric used to make it was typically found on the interior of
Mexican low-rider cars and wasn't meant as a fabric to be worn. Despite this, Dennis Thompkins was
able to make it work. The jacket was made to look bulky, but feel weightless when worn, and
everywhere it caught the light, it appeared to change color. Michael wore a jacket during a rehearsal
for the J5 Medley in the film.
Dirty Diana

Zaldy had designed the outfit for ¨Dirty Diana¨. The outfit was a white shirt with a green and gold
colored left arm and a black right arm with red armband. Accompanying pants were also made,
Being a silver design with straps. The Outfit was made akin to The ¨Dangerous" World Tour´s
´Workin' Day And Night´, and was designed to be able to have a quick change into the next song.
They resembled the basic germ mask pants but with an iridescent shine and bigger knee pads (still
looking like the folds of a mask).
Black Or White

Zaldy designed the main outfit for "Black or White", while Bush and Thompkins designed a backup
shirt. Zaldy's version aimed to match the hard rock feel of the song, so he crafted a leather jacket with
black and gold-colored studs patterned to make it look samurai-themed. It took five days for Zaldy's
team to determine exactly how they wanted each individual stud to be placed. The studding made
the jacket heavy, around ten pounds according to Zaldy. The jacket also lacked any buttons or
zippers, so Michael could take it off with ease.

Zaldy also created studded loafers for the outfit. Knowing how much Michael loved the familiar feel
of his usual Florsheim loafers, Zaldy, and his team went to great lengths to ensure that the studded
loafers wouldn't feel any different from his usual loafers. At one point, they ended up cutting one of
the shoes open so they could make sure that it would fit Michael's foot perfectly.

As noted in his book, "The King of Style", Bush created a backup shirt for the song. It was a white
shirt (much like the original outfit) with a winged skull on the left shoulder that wrapped around the
left arm. The right hip featured the image of a royal emblem in gray and gold. The tail was six inches
longer than Michael's previous tour shirts to create an extra effect of movement and fluidity. Michael
can be seen wearing this shirt in the movie, during the scene where he directs Orianthi on her guitar
solo at the end of "Black or White.
Billie Jean

"Billie Jean" was the first outfit that Zaldy came up with when he was hired for This Is It. The look of
the outfit was very faithful to the original Motown 25 look, but with more refined sequins. Inspired
by the glowing tiles from the song's short film, Zaldy worked with Phillips Lumalive to create a
version of the iconic outfit that would light up in different patterns. The lighting was accomplished
through LED textiles made in the outfit's socks, pant stripes, the sides of the jacket, and the glove. The
lighting would've been operated by someone backstage using a remote control.

Michael got to try the pants on before he died and saw how the lights worked. He was so thrilled
with Zaldy's work that he declared, "It's everything I've always wanted."

Bush and Thompkins also created a secondary jacket for this outfit that was also intended to light up,
with lights installed all around it. After watching Michael during a rehearsal prior to his death, Bush
and Thompkins were concerned that he wouldn't be able to handle its weight (8 pounds). With
Michael's approval, they started to make a version of the jacket that didn't light up, but they never
finished it before Michael died. This jacket was made of a noisy sequin that sounded like ‘footsteps
skipping along a pathway of crushed rocks.’ Dennis knew instantly this was the material for the
jacket.
Thriller

Zaldy made the main jacket for "Thriller". This version of the jacket used embroidered blood on the
shoulders in place of the original quilting, a detail that Michael loved. The inside of the jacket
contained the image of the werecat from the "Thriller" short film biting into a Swarovski crystal, an
easter egg which Michael never saw. Zaldy also designed a pair of red and black loafers to go with
the jacket, but these shoes were purely optional.

Bush and Thompkins were in the midst of creating a backup jacket for "Thriller", but it was never
finished before Michael died. This version of the jacket used red plastic holograms that caught the
light and, as Bush hoped it would, add depth to the classic look.

Outfits were also created for the backing vocalists for the "Thriller" number, being black cloaks with
lantern props. This could possibly be for a part where the vocalists would walk onstage during
"Thriller".
Beat It

The Beat It jacket was designed by Bush and Thompkins. This version of the jacket was made out of
kevlar and rigged so that when Michael took it off at the end of the song, it would burst into flames.

Global Jacket

Intended for any of the globally themed songs ("We Are the World" / "Heal the World", and "Will
You Be There") , this colorful jacket was made using beading from around the world. The jacket used
embroidery from China and India, Native American patchwork done in leather, featured an armband
to echo Michael's love for the military, had a zipper running down the back, and gold plating that
was designed to shake when Michael danced. The lower right-hand side of the jacket featured the
words "heal the world" written in Arabic text. Prior to his death, the most Michael ever saw of this
outfit was the full 3D paper layout.
Man In The Mirror

The "Man in the Mirror" jacket for "This Is It" would've been military-themed. The jacket featured
layers of Swarovski crystals in a patten running the front, while the collar and shoulders were stacked
with additional crystals. Some crystals were also hidden in the jacket's waistband. Michael compared
the crystals to "hidden treasure".

Michael wore an early version of the jacket that was black in color and only had an outline of the
zipper that would go on the front. The final version of the jacket was dark lavender and had the
zipper installed. Matching pants for Man In The Mirror had also been developed, a black color with a
space-like sparkle designs. Bush made a gray silk chiffon sequined trench coat that gave the illusion
of a heavily studded piece, but was virtually weightless. Before going to the MJ AIR plane exit in the
middle of the stage, Bush would roll out suitcases and put the cloak over Michael to remove his mic
pack and patted his face dry, and Michael would walk to the plane with the metallic trenchcoat on,
waving goodbye. The trenchcoat remained unfinished.