by Stephen Christian-Noonan
Elvis pushed gender boundaries throughout his career, famously making floral prints cool in the Sixties when he wore a red hibiscus shirt for the movie Blue Hawaii. Prada, Dior, and Saint Laurent have all since adapted the Aloha style. From the mid-sixties, as he concentrated more on movies, he began to fade into the background as the British Invasion, spearheaded by the Beatles, took hold.
In 1968 a TV special was planned.
It was going to be a Christmas special but, thanks to the director Steve Binder, it became known as the 68 Comeback special. Elvis wore a two-piece black leather biker outfit, evoking the rebellious spirits of James Dean and Maarlon Brando designed by Bill Belew (1931-2008) who would go on to design the famous jumpsuits. The final sequence in the Christmas special is the closing number If I Can Dream, where Elvis is wearing a white suit and red scarf, standing in front of a vast ELVIS sign in red lights. Elvis felt alive again and wanted to go back to performing live concerts.