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Elton John looks back on his outfits over the years: “I wanted to become more outrageous”

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Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images

No artist has been better suited to take part in Vogue‘s ongoing video series “Life in Looks” than Elton John.

The series features celebrities going through photographs of themselves and commenting on their outfits.  Of course, Elton’s outfits are a bit more interesting than most stars’ — like the time he dressed up as “Louis IV on acid” for his 50th birthday party in 1997. 

As Elton recalls, because he was wearing “the biggest wig of all time,” he had to travel to the party in a furniture van, since he couldn’t fit into a regular limo.  By the time he got there, he says, he had to take the outfit off because the wig was so heavy that he was “in agony.”

And then there was what Elton calls the “giant chicken outfit” — the multicolored feather get-up he famously wore on The Muppet Show.  “This was so much fun to wear. I used to get feathers in my mouth while I was singing,” he laughs.

Elton also recalls the head-to-toe denim outfit covered with sewn-on patches he wore during a visit to Disneyland — only to be denied entrance.  Today, he believes “every piece of denim in the world should be burned.”

As for why he wore those outrageous outfits, Elton points out, “I sat at a piano. I’m not Mick Jagger. I’m not Rod Stewart. I’m not David Bowie. I don’t move around the stage. I’ve got to attract attention somehow!”

So, any regrets?  “Not really,” he says. “There’s some clunkers, but there always is.”

Really? Not even that Donald Duck outfit?

“A disaster, but a fun disaster,” he notes.

By the way, Elton also reveals that he doesn’t actually need glasses.  When you see him wearing them, they don’t have prescription lenses in them.

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