Bill Belew, the Man Who Dressed the King, Dies

The man who made sequin-studded jumpsuits a "must have" in an entertainer's costume closet, has died at the age of 76. Bill Belew, who designed costumes for Elvis "The King" Presley, and convinced Elvis that a jumpsuit would show the world that The King was comfortable with his masculinity changed the face of on-stage costumes for musical acts ranging from The Osmonds to the Jackson 5, and performers today in many musical genres still emulate the style made famous by Elvis.

"Bill Belew changed the face of rock 'n' roll fashion," Presley costume historian Butch Polston said in an interview with the Los Angeles Times.

Belew was a graduate of the Parsons School of Design in New York. During his long career, Belew designed costumes for a variety of stars. The list of celebrity who wore Belew designs in their acts includes Lynne Redgrave, Lena Horne, Josephine Baker, Ella Fitzgerald, Gloria Swanson, Victoria Principal, Pia Zadora, Brooke Shields, Jaclyn Smith, Gloria Estafan, Joan Rivers, Gloria Estefan, Gladys Knight, Roberta Flack and Dionne Warwick, as well as Milton Berle, and Doc Severensen.

Belew became known as "The Man Who Dressed The King" during his nine year relationship with Elvis, which started when Belew was called in to design the costume for the "comeback" 1968 concert, which featured Elvis in form-fitting black leather from head to toe.

"He was a great person to dress," Belew said in a 1999 interview with Salon.

"He had a terrific build at that point . . . [But] at the time we started in Vegas, everything was Liberace. And I would see these outlandish things with fur and feathers and think, 'That's not going to be Elvis. And if that's what he wants, he can get somebody else.' I wanted the clothes to be easy and seductive and that was it. And I never wanted anything to compromise his masculinity."

Belew's jumpsuits were inspired from two sources - Elvis desire to have something loose and comfortable to work in on-stage akin to his karate gi, and figure skating. Belew when he was called in to design the new Vegas Elvis costumes immediately turned to the materials used for figure skating, with its extreme athletic moves in a form-fitting material, stretch gabardine.

Belew related the tale in an interview with Elvis fanzine, Elvis Australia. "...I would like to use what is known for ice skaters as stretch gab, or gabardine. And, it allows skaters to do their splits, their turns, and everything. And I thought it would be great for Elvis because the one thing he said that he wanted to incorporate in his act was his karate. And I thought I've got to find something that will allow him to do that."

Belew also designed costumes for the New York City Ballet and the San Francisco Ballet.

Belew died January 7, 2008 in Palm Springs, California of cardiac arrest.