Michael Jackson costume designer's book tour

Michael Bush, longtime costume designer and personal friend of the King of Pop, Michael Jackson and Hard Rock Cafe Europe announce an exclusive book signing tour to begin Tuesday, Oct. 30, 2012 through Wednesday, Nov. 14, 2012.

The tour will give Michael Jackson fans the first opportunity to purchase the highly anticipated book before they are in European stores next year and get the chance to meet Michael Jackson's fashion designer Michael Bush in person.

An exhibit of exclusive Michael Jackson costumes from the Bush & Tompkins collection featured in the book will also be on display for one day only at Hard Rock Cafe locations. Fans will have the unique opportunity to also have Bush personally autograph their book.

"The King of Style: Dressing Michael Jackson," is the first art-driven book about the costumes, apparel, shoes and accessories created and worn by Michael Jackson includes hundreds of lavish photographs and a behind-the-scenes-look into the process of collaborating with the world's most legendary and powerful entertainer of our time. The book includes personal stories from the author, never before seen photographs and a fascinating look into the world of fashion that only Jackson could have created.

For more than 24 years, Michael Bush, along with his partner Dennis Tompkins worked personally with Michael Jackson in creating some of the most original and recognizable clothing ever worn by a musical performer. They created thousands of custom artistic pieces that captured the inspiration, direction and creativity of the King of Pop.

The King of Style: Dressing Michael Jackson European Book Tour schedule is as follows:

Tuesday, October 30, 2012
Hard Rock Cafe LONDON 9am-12noon
150 Old Park Lane
Tel: +44 207 514 1700

Wednesday, October 31, 2012
Display at Getty Gallery
LONDON

Monday, November 5, 2012
Hard Rock Cafe ROME 6pm-9pm
Via Vittoria Veneto 62a
Tel: +39 06 420 30511

Wednesday, November 7, 2012
Hard Rock Cafe PARIS 3pm-7pm
14 Boulevard Montmartre
Tel: +33 1 5324 6000

Thursday, November 8, 2012
Hard Rock Cafe AMSTERDAM 3pm-6pm
Max Euweplein 57-61
1017 MA Amsterdam
Tel: +31 20 523 7625

Friday, November 9, 2012
Hard Rock Cafe BRUSSELS 2pm-5pm
Grand-Place 12a
1000 City of Brussels
Tel: +32 25 46 1660

Monday, November 12, 2012
Hard Rock Cafe BERLIN 3pm-7pm
Kurfurstendamm 224
Tel: +49 30 884 620

Wednesday, November 14, 2012
Hard Rock Cafe COPENHAGEN 10am-1pm
Vesterbrogade, 3
1630 Copenhagen
Tel: +45 3 312 4333

There will be a limited number of books at each location for purchase and autograph. First come, first serve. Fashion designer Michael Bush, will share his own personal stories and take photographs while on site.

"Michael Jackson was the world's greatest entertainer. His fashion sense and ideas of design took me on an extraordinary journey for almost 25 years. There was nothing we couldn't do and Michael was full of surprises. We travelled the world together during Michael's three solo tours and created designs and fashions that have become iconic. I always say I educated Michael and he educated me through the process," said author and designer Michael Bush.

"Michael loved military style, Egyptian styles and the image of royalty as you can see in many of his most famous costumes and personal outfits. When we designed, we designed for show time, no matter what the occasion. When Michael was alive he always talked about us doing a book like this. My hope is that by producing King of Style: Dressing Michael Jackson, fans and fashion enthusiasts around the world can now share in the excitement and surprises I was able to live every day working with the King of Pop, Michael Jackson."

Celebrities and fashion luminaries provided endorsements including famous London milliner Phillip Treacy and Grammy award winning artist Celine Dion.


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Fans want to stop Michael Jackson costumes auction as book is released


Today, the book "The King of Style: Dressing Michael Jackson" by Michael Bush was released featuring the massive collection of costumes that Michael Jackson wore throughout his career. Bush, who was Jackson's designer and stylist for 25 years, has compiled the 216-page book which explores the creation of Michael Jackson's famous costumes that were designed by Bush and his partner, Dennis Tompkins, who passed away last year.

However, this may be the last time that all of these Michael Jackson costumes will be seen together. "The King of Style" book is the companion to an upcoming auction in December which will feature the items shown in the book. Many Michael Jackson fans are upset that these items are being put up for auction by Michael Bush. Julien's Auctions in Beverly Hills is sponsoring "The Collection of Tompkins and Bush: Michael Jackson" auction to be held on December 2. An exhibition of the items has been touring the world since May.

Designer Michael Bush stands next to a jacket he designed for Michael Jackson, October 4, 2012 in London, England.

Fans claim that Bush is going against his former boss's wishes of putting the costumes in a museum. As a close friend of Jackson's for 25 years, Bush was well aware of Jackson's wishes, according to Jackson's former makeup artist, Karen Faye. One fan on the TeamMichaelJackson website explains: "We have already lost forever all of the irreplaceable and one-of-a-kind Michael Jackson items that have already been sold during the nine auctions since his murder! If we don't stop this now, there will not be anything left for his beloved children or a Michael Jackson Museum in the future!"

When asked by a Michael Jackson fan about the upcoming auction, Michael Bush replied that he wasn't doing the auction for money, but for charity. In the official press release for the auction, it states that "a portion of the proceeds of the auction will benefit two charities, Guide Dogs of America and Nathan Adelson Hospice in Las Vegas."

Julien's Auctions has featured numerous Michael Jackson items in various auctions in the three years since Michael Jackson's death. In April 2009, just two months before Jackson died, Julien's was scheduled to hold the auction of "The Collection of Michael Jackson" featuring items from Michael Jackson's Neverland Ranch. At the last minute, the auction was canceled. Julien's still sells copies of the auction catalogs from that canceled auction. Last year, Julien's held the auction "100 North Carolwood Drive" which contained items from the last home Jackson lived at.

Some Michael Jackson fans hope the upcoming "Tompkins and Bush" auction will be canceled. However, with that unlikely scenario, the best situation that fans of Michael Jackson can hope for is that the collectors who purchase these costumes will one day loan or donate them to a museum so that the public can appreciate them for years to come.

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The Estate wants Michael’s fans to know that a number of items that were in the possession of Michael Bush and Dennis Tompkins - currently part of the exhibition for Michael’s book, The King of Style: Dressing Michael Jackson - will NOT be sold in an upcoming December 2 auction.

Michael Bush agreed with the Estate that some of the most iconic pieces needed to be preserved as part of Michael’s legacy and, following the conclusion of the exhibition, they will be delivered to the Estate.

Bush made this announcement on his Facebook page yesterday:

“Friends, I have been profoundly touched by the outpouring of love and admiration for Michael Jackson that I have been able to witness during the launch of the book King of Style: Dressing Michael Jackson. The book features the many fashions of Michael Jackson that I had the great pleasure of working on or creating during my almost 25 years of working with the greatest entertainer of all time. Although some of the items that Dennis and I have collected over the years will be auctioned by Julien’s Auctions on Sunday, December 2nd at Julien’s Auctions in Beverly Hills, I have decided to gift several of the costumes originally marked for auction to the Estate of Michael Jackson so that they can be preserved by the Estate as part of Michael’s legacy for many years to come. I recognize the historical significance of these costumes and even though some of them were personalized and gifted to me by Michael Jackson, I have been fortunate to have the opportunity to share these items with the fans with the recent exhibitions and some of the items are to be part of the permanent collection of the Estate.” - Michael Bush, fashion designer and author of The King of Style: Dressing Michael Jackson.

If you want to read the full statement on his page, it can be seen here: [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

Regards

The Michael Jackson Estate