George, You Have Been Loved!
Article Contributor Oben Budak
How to influence fashion by music? Start from slouchy blazers, micro shorts, leather jackets and pamper up with dangly earrings and more! George Michael touched the world with much more than his music. Michael also donated the royalties from ”Last Christmas”/’Everything She Wants”, and proceeds from ”Don’t Let the Sun Go Down On Me”. His style was iconic, particularly in the areas of statement earrings, ripped jeans and leather jackets. But before he reached the peak of his career, the singer styled himself for the following iconic music videos:
Their first single, “Wham Rap,” began with George declaring, “Hey everybody, take a look at me/I’ve got street credibility!” They styled themselves as protest singers, complaining about the unemployment of the Thatcher era. There’s a great moment where a TV presenter tells the audience, “Let’s check out some social-comment rapping with a dance record from Wham!.”
George understood the power of the image, starting from his Wham! days — with his ‘tough yet tender’ leather-clad look to the bubblegum wholesomeness of pastel beachwear, micro shorts, highlighted hair, and neon colors. The style and look of Wham! pushed them to stand out from other bands in that era and made George Michael a heartthrob.
The official music video for the ”Faith” was directed by Andy Morahan. It features Michael, with noticeable stubble on his face, wearing a black leather jacket with ‘Rockers Revenge’ and BSA logo, Ray-Ban Aviator sunglasses and a pair of Levi’s blue jeans with cowboy boots, playing a guitar near a classic-design Wurlitzer jukebox. Writers Bob Batchelor and Scott Stoddart say the music video positions him as a “masculine sex object”, breaking him up into individual body parts such as “stubbled” chin and butt. The whole “Faith” image was all his. He didn’t use a stylist and said that: “I don’t think I could have afforded one!”
And one day he decided to be invisible and not appear in his videos. But by doing so, he created the ”Freedom” ’90 video which is still celebrated today as THAT musical moment that brought fashion and pop culture together. The image of the top supermodels of that time; Cindy Crawford, Naomi Campbell, Christy Turlington, Linda Evangelista, and Tatjana Patitz, lip-synching to his song proved to be a total game-changer that intertwined fashion and music together.
The “Too Funky” video was made to raise money for AIDS research. George Michael was then in a conflict with Sony, so he was not able to do any albums before his contract was over …but he could do this song, “Too Funky,” that was put onto the Red Hot + Dance album. George wanted to work with Thierry Mugler because his shows were a bit like cabarets. It was more like going to a theater show and it was extraordinary. Mugler always had big surprises. And also this video was a charity job; they all did it for free.
He has also been seen with a horseshoe mustache that hung down to his chin with a soul patch down the center of the chin. The rest of the face was clean-shaven. He has also gone with a more standard mustache and the soul patch as well as a mustache and goatee. ”Jesus To a Child’‘ has been a massive hit with this massive changing. He wrote that song for his biggest love Anselmo. George Michael donated all the royalties from his 1996 number one single ”Jesus To a Child” to charity.
He is also a style icon in his own right. He’s chic, he’s glam. Beyond trends, he’s timeless. George’s cross earring has become a cultural artefact, the immediate reference point for single dangly earrings across the board, to this day.
”Flawless” video and lyrics are life saving. It represents more than a delicious dance tune. It’s the motivational speech you listen to when you’re down and depressed. There’s no need of any medication or counseling with it. He started before Sam Smith to reconcile people with themselves.
