LONDON — Savile Row tailor Richard James is helping his old friend Sir Elton John, creating a dedicated window display and limited-edition T-shirts around the theme of the upcoming film “Rocketman.”
The display features a silk spot outfit done in two different colorways that James created for John in the early Aughts.
“One of them, he wore for a milk ad, in an orange and red colorway, and the other he wore while performing with Eminem at the Grammys in a blue and lilac colorway,” said Sean Dixon, who cofounded the tailor with Richard James.
James and John have been working together for a while now. “The thing with Elton is if he likes what you do, he just lets you get on with it, and the more special and crazy it is the better. He’s a showman and he definitely wants the pieces to be showy,” Dixon said.
To date, Dixon’s favorite Richard James design for John is a coat with crystal-covered tails. “The crystal tail coats are amazing, they took a long time because we had to put each crystal on by hand and to make sure that he could play the piano and perform as well,” Dixon said.
The London window display will also include a Yamaha grand piano with a mannequin positioned as if playing a piano. Dixon has also released a limited-edition run of eight gray T-shirts with a Swarovski crystal rocket design to the chest. The T-shirts will be available in store and retail at 175 pounds.