Elton John’s most fabulous looks can be seen at a theater near you. The beloved singer’s life story is the subject of Rocketman, and while fans are adoring Taron Egerton’s depiction of Elton John’s musical career, the costumes are also feeling the love. Specifically, that sparkly Los Angeles Dodgers uniform John wore when he performed two sold-out shows at Dodger Stadium.
It turns out that wasn’t just a costume for the film — or a Halloween getup for Harry Styles — John really wore the damn thing, and there are photos to prove it. If there’s something familiar about the outfit, it’s because master of sequins Bob Mackie designed the costume. Like John, Cher also wore several of his designs. You may remember Cher and Mackie from such fashion moments as her jagged two-piece black sequined power outfit from the 1989 Oscars.
John has always been a style icon. Rocketman’s costume designer, Julian Day, faithfully recreated some of his more flamboyant looks, including his devil costume, complete with feathered wings. Day explained to USA Today that the Dodgers unitard got a major reimagining for the film. In order to achieve that disco ball effect, Day traded sequins for crystals — more than 260,000 of them, to be exact. “The costume weighed a ton,” he said. “When the lights hit it, people had to look away.”
Ultimate Classic Rock’s writer Dog Fox was at one of those shows, and penned an essay about seeing that costume. John played two sets, which included “Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds,” “Bennie and the Jets,” and the titular “Rocket Man.” According to Fox, John took a short intermission between the two sets. When he returned back on stage, he was wearing the glittering Dodgers baseball uniform, complete with a baseball cap.