* MICHAEL JACKSON 

Black wool stage trousers with a straight cut, featuring wide white satin braiding along the outer seams and a striking gold metal badge attached to the waistband, reminiscent of a military decoration. The inside bears a woven label reading ‘Dennis Tompkins & Michael Bush’, as well as felt-tip pen annotations on the lining.

The trousers are accompanied by a letter of provenance signed by Andrew D. Lansky, a member of the Bad tour team in 1987, who recounts having given Michael Jackson a set of books on Napoleon for his 29th birthday. In gratitude, the singer is said to have left these trousers and a red jacket in his dressing room, with the note “They are no longer Napoleonic to me. MJ”. 

DNA analyses carried out in 2018 by Alliance DNA Laboratory and ARCpoint Labs on two gloves (lot no. 30 and lot no. 38) and the Billie Jean trousers (lot no. 15) revealed the same male profile, obtained from samples taken from the linings.
This match across several costume items suggests use by the same wearer and provides an indication that the ensemble was used on stage. However, these tests, conducted privately and without comparison to a reference profile associated with Michael Jackson, cannot constitute proof of use by the artist. They should be regarded as supplementary documentary evidence to the provenance already established by written documentation.
The results of these analyses will be provided to the purchaser.

The Bad tour also marks a significant transitional phase in the design of Michael Jackson’s stage wardrobe, at a time when Bill Whitten’s historic work was gradually merging with that of Dennis Tompkins and Michael Bush, who were now fully involved in the production of stage and tour costumes.

Through its striking contrast between tuxedo-style satin stripes and a badge inspired by military and honorary insignia, these trousers encapsulate the visual vocabulary developed for the first phase of the Bad World Tour, notably during the 1987 concerts in Japan and Australia, where several pairs of black trousers with side stripes and metal buckles appeared, comparable in their overall construction and stage presentation.

The inside of the trousers shows signs of wear and perspiration localised at the waistband and contact areas, consistent with a performance garment worn under demanding stage conditions. Combined with the Dennis Tompkins & Michael Bush label, the documented provenance and the analyses carried out on several items from the same collection, these elements contribute to the overall consistency of these trousers with the wardrobe developed for Michael Jackson during the Bad period, a pivotal moment when the stage costume became a central element of his visual and choreographic identity. 

ADDENDUM: Bidders are advised to take note of this information before placing their bid.

This lot is the subject of a dispute raised by one of the designers, Mr Michael Bush. However, no expert report or technical details specific to this lot have been provided by him to date. Furthermore, the previous owner of the lots, Mr Richard Fossaas, has informed us in writing of a long-standing personal dispute between himself and Mr Bush, predating this sale and unrelated to this lot, as well as of Mr Bush’s systematic opposition to items from his collection bearing the label ‘Dennis Thompkins & Michael Bush’.