Made by: Aashmeen Aamir

Star Image

George Michael

George Michael

Georgios Kyriacos Panayiotou (25 June 1963- 25 December 2016) later on professionally known as George Michael was a british singer, song writer, record producer and philanthropist who rose to fame as a member of the band of the 1980s WHAM! Later on he pursued his career as a solo artist and reached success. He had sold upto  115 million records worldwide making him one of the best selling artist of all time. His band Wham sold upto 28 million records from 1982-1986.

1982-1986

Wham!

Debut Album:Fantastic

Fantastic was the first studio album by Wham which was released in 1983,  it reached number 1 on the UK album charts. It included the previous singles they released back in 1982 them being Wham Rap! , Young Guns (Go for it) and Bad Boys.In this album George Michael had a bad boy persona and gave the impression of being a carefree young man who lives his life to the fullest.

First ever music video

Wham Rap! was the debut single released in 1982 which was also later on added into Fantastic in 1983, the song is about living your life to the fullest and they appreciate the help given by DHSS ( Department of health and social security) for the unemploymed people. George Michael was seen wearing a black leather jacket, a white plain t-shirt, a pair of skinny high ankle jeans with and a pair of loafers.

George Michael's look

Wham Rap!

Was seen wearing black leather jacket,skinny high ankle jeans with a pair of loafers like usually most young people do he is dressed up in a way that he looks like a young carefree man.

Michael was shown as a typical young carefree bad boy along with a black leather jacket he had his ears pierced and has a very small low pony and has some rowdy expressions aswell which complete the entire look.

"Sometimes the clothes do not make a man" said Michael in Freedom'90 but, was it really true? beyond his incredible voice and some of his self empowering music his look and style was also different and fabulous. Till 1983 he had short brown hair and was clean shaved but later on 1984 he changed his hair color, his hair grew more longer  and also let go of  the rebellious  persona he had in Fantastic for his second album Make It Big.

Second Album:Make It Big

This was the second studio album released by Wham in October 1984, as compared to Wham's earlier work the duo had more control over this album's production as George Michael himself became the credited producer of this album as he would've in his career as a solo artist,the album was a critical and commercial success.It hit number one in both UK and US.

Careless Whisper

While fellow ’80s pop stars like Boy George and Dead Or Alive’s Pete Burns played with gender norms, George Michael went for  blond-streaked, feathered tresses, gold hoop earrings in the song Careless Whisper which also happened to be Michael's first as a solo artist.

Not did he only have a different look as compared to some of the artists in that time he also gave a very classy and elegant look wearing a suit. He gave an image of a classy man ,his look complimented the music and the song perfectly.

Wake me up before you go-go

Michael rocked the oversized Katharine Hamnett tees  with “CHOOSE LIFE” in block letters in “Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go,” which made slogan tees a big ’80s fashion moment. The issue here was about suicide prevention and drug abuse.

His hot pink top,Day-Glo yellow fingerless gloves  and 2 color shorts gloves in the video for “Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go” had another big ’80s trend: neon. The bright and bubbly outfit added more feel to the song and Michael was shown as a positive and a happy person.

1987-2016

Post Wham! : A Solo Artist

In 1986 after 'The Final' Wham! was no more, but a superstar a solo artist  was just born at that time ,Michael was keen to create music which targeted the adult audience  more of like sophisticated audiences instead of teenage audiences; unlike Wham! therefore Michael announced the split of wham. Not only did he leave Wham! but also left his jolly persona and went onto being bad and rebellious again. He also started with playing different genres of music instead of pop only.

Debut album:Faith

Faith was Michael's first debut album as a solo artist which was released in October 1987 , the album won several awards including the Grammy for Album of the year the album has sold over 20  million copies world wide.Not only did he started playing with genres but he also brought back his bad boy person with earrings and leather jackets.

Faith

Michael’s iconic Faith look  was sure to die for, Liam Gallagher also referred to him here as the "Modern day Elvis" . Plus, the vintage black motorcycle jacket, his ripped Levi’s, crucifix earring and mirrored aviators added up to a pretty boy pop star.It could be easily said that the audiences definitely crushed on him with these looks.

In 1987 Faith released ,in which George Michael established the particular look that would become a shorthand for his masculine persona.He had a beard and he appeared in black aviators ,fingerless gloves and a black leather jacket with the sleeves pushed up.He later on had also sported this look for his song Father Figure which was released later on in the same year.

The black aviators which  he also continued to wear in public appearances and music videos.

Wearing one earring has always been George's thing specially the one with a crusifix, which also turned out to be a signature in the late 80s.

Monkey

Madonna wasn’t the only pop icon sporting suspenders in the ’80s. George Michael made the playful look elegant ,when paired with a fedora hat in the video for “Monkey”and with these type of looks anyone could be attracted towards the man easily.

Older

This was the third solo album released by George Michael in 1996  Michael took three years to record  Older, and the album showed him exploring new musical genres in a more serious vibe as compared to his previous work.

Shows half of his face

 Grey and  black, with a hint of green in the eye

 Shows George Michael taking a grip on maturity

George Michael made a dramatic change of his clothes, hair style and overall appearance for Older. The long blonde hair, beard , jeans and his famous leather jackets that Michael was known for during the 1980s were replaced with a buzz cut black hair and mostly leather clothes.

Symphonica Tour

The Symphonica Tour was an orchestral and George Michael's final tour. The singer performed the songs mainly from his albums Songs from the last century and Patience as well as some cover versions in new arrangements.

Symphonica had definitely shown the public a totally new George Michael in terms of his style the man who always rocked ripped jeans and leather jackets was now seen in elegant suits. His look definitely complimented the tour as it was a very formal event with an orchestra not to mention that it took place in venues like the Palais Garnier.

He is seen wearing a black suit with a white shirt and his signature glasses the backgrounds looks very royal and elegant no wonder his images shows what kind of tour was he on.

Here he is seen wearing a purple suit paired with a black shirt with one button undone and his signature glasses.

George Michael's style has always been unique from being a care free youngster with a hint of bad attitude in Young Guns to being a good boy who is well dressed in Careless Whisper he enjoys living his life he has pulled off every look really well, not to mention after going solo he took on his bad and sexy persona again which he had let go for some music videos. But no matter what ever style he had he always rocked the look and totally pulled it off.

Richard Dyer talks about Ideology and Culture being an important part of star image  according to him, stars represent cultural values and promote certain ideologies.Stars my begin a new fashion trend, with fans usually copying their styles,or they may talk and discuss certain issues like sexuality and LGBT rights. Along with his opinion on  Character and Personality fits my research perfectly as George Michael himself was a homosexual ,not many knew about this until the news broke in 1998 about him being gay when he was caught in a lewd act in beverlly hills.George Michael also worked as a gay rights campaigner and was very determined to support the LGBT issues .He was never ashamed of himself the way he was though he had been with many women aswell but in an interview he mentioned that after  he fell in love with a man all the previous relationships seemed nothing to him.

Dyer also talks about how the artists produce music which shows their feelings,emotions interests and lifestyle at a particular point in time.The audiences understand the composition and also create an understanding of the star's persona on the sentiments he is trying to express for example Jesus To A Child was a song written by Michael when his brazilian partner Anselmo Felleppa passed away due to AIDS it was a very hard time for him.He expressed his feelings in this composition by which the audiences were also touched. It was a private tribute to his partner Anselmo.

George Michael's Style Evolution

 He cut his long hair and adopted a fashionable short haircut, he also grew a beard for the first time his face.

Post Wham! he presented himself as a rebellious rock. Black dyed hair, beard, black clothes, leather jacket and rivet belt which made girls fanatical about the then 23-year-old.

George Michael, as in the previous years, showed himself increasingly in elegant black clothes. The singer also now  started to wear spectacles while performing.

Later on he started dressing more formally in suits instead of the typical bad boy leather jackets.

In the year 2000, George Michael made an appearance again after a big controversy , as here in this shimmering green suit.

In the following years he maintained his new look , but still it was classic and elegant. George Michael now started wearing suits, he liked to show himself in black and gray mostly.

As in the years before and after, the sunglasses still counted has his signature style of that time.

George knew his way around a good suit, whether he looked chic in coral or indifferent  in head-to-toe black. The formula was simple, take one suit with a powerful vibe and balance it out with a t-shirt.
 

To really rock this look of a photoshoot  in a sultry way many shirt buttons were undone as possible.George had surely followed his  mantra, ‘if you have got it flaunt it,"
 

George kept this look this his death when his hair turned grey he cut them really short and  kept a goate. The style he had in his middle age was very classy and elegant probably the way how a sophisticated middle aged would dress up he might also change his outfits from  suits to something else but the glasses were always present.

 Everyone knows that George was also known for his sunglasses,In an interview by Red Line George revealed why he was wearing sunglasses all the time. In reality the sunglasses that we though were part of his image were actually a defensive mechanism for him. He wore sunglasses because it gave him confidence... it was a way by which he hid himself from the public eye. His former partner Kenny Goss described on his instagram sometime ago...that how George could not go in the public as he would be recogonized in the public eye he also went on to explain how George had not visted any malls either so when they were in Dallas Michael took a pair of sunglasses and roamed around like a common man after many years.

The temptation for fashion surely held an appeal for Michael, he played a lot with his public image over the years. With time along with him his wardrobe became more sophisticated and classy as well , he switched from leather jackets and jeans to formal suits.

His look in the closing ceremony of the 2012 Olympics definitely took  us back to the 80's the same black leather jacket, fancy shoes, black tees and a really cool belt.The George Michael of the 1980s was definitely back for this performance.

In his last days he was hardly seen in public, those elegant suits were now gone and casual dressing took over more of like a common man would dress.Even if he was spotted in public he would be seen in a simple shirt or with a jacket with it sometimes.Though his dressing changed but till the end that very short grey hair and the pair of glasses was still maintained by him.

" I believe I can leave songs that will mean something to the other generations" qouted Michael in an interview and there is no doubt that he certainly has. His legacy will live forever today,George Michael is one of the music legends who will continue to live on in his music but not in real life.His voice and compositions didn't only make his career, his style also played a major role. George Michael had a major influence on fashion he was an artist who constantly reinvented himself and his look.From the carefree days of wham to him being a mature artist his style has always been appreciated whether it is wearing glowing yellow neon gloves with a pair of 2 colored shorts or a man wearing a proper elegant classy suit,he always knew to choose the right attire.