When costume designer Michael Bush met Michael Jackson on Bush’s 27th birthday in June 1985, Bush instantly felt a strong connection.
And so apparently did Jackson, who hired Bush and his partner Dennis Tompkins to be his personal dressers. They spent the next 25 years styling the King of Pop.
Bush and Tompkins were constantly in the star’s shadow. They awoke at 4 a.m. to bring Jackson his outfits. They kept him company on tour, tweaking his wardrobe between shows and tossing a few in Jackson’s infamous water-balloon fights. They knew not to interrupt him during “The Simpsons,” or tell him that a costume request was impossible. And when it came time for Jackson to be laid to rest, the family called on them to create his final look, a version of his favorite military jacket.
“I’m lucky because I got 25 years with Michael that nobody else got,” Bush tells The Post.
PHOTOS: SECRETS OF JACKO’S WARDROBE
In his new book, “The King of Style: Dressing Michael Jackson,” due out next week, Bush, 54, shares the stories behind some of Jackson’s most iconic looks — from the red leather jacket that screamed “Beat It” to his bedazzled white socks. That jeweled white glove, for instance? He didn’t wear it to read the newspaper. “It was strictly for entertainment,” says Bush.
And now Bush is sharing the glory as he sells off select items through Julien’s Auctions in Beverly Hills on Dec. 2, to partly benefit the Nathan Adelson Hospice in Las Vegas and Guide Dogs of America in LA.
Bush will be at the Hard Rock Cafe in Times Square tomorrow for a book signing and to display some of the items on auction. But he gave The Post a sneak preview.