In April of 2009, a designer named Zaldy Goco picked up a casual phone call. It came from someone working with Michael Jackson’s choreographer, Travis Payne. Zaldy had no idea that call was about to change his whole year.
Michael was getting ready for a run of comeback shows in London. He’d asked to see designs from some of the biggest names in all of fashion, reportedly including John Galliano and Alexander McQueen. These were the heavy hitters, the people who dress movie stars and royalty.
Then Zaldy’s designs arrived. And Michael, by Zaldy’s account, was jumping up and down screaming. He loved them that much. Just like that, Zaldy was asked to design the entire show.
Over the next few weeks he had five fittings with Michael. The last one came about six days before the whole team was set to fly to London.
That day, Zaldy brought in the new pants for one of Michael’s most famous numbers, the “Billie Jean” outfit. Michael tried them on and then he went completely quiet. Zaldy said he looked silent and completely stunned, just staring.
The seconds ticked by. Ten. Twenty. Around thirty seconds of total silence.
Then Michael spoke.
He said five simple words. “It’s everything I’ve always wanted.”
There was a reason the outfit hit him so hard. The design was built to light up, made with help from the electronics company Philips, so Michael would glow on that enormous London stage. He’d been dreaming of a look like that for years, and here it finally was in his hands.
The sad part is that the London shows never happened. Michael was gone before opening night. That fitting turned out to be the last time Zaldy ever saw him.
The “Billie Jean” costume built for the London comeback
Take a look at the outfit for yourself. When you know what Zaldy went through to make it, and what Michael said when he saw it, those few pieces of fabric carry a lot of weight.
Zaldy went on to dress other huge stars after that, including Lady Gaga. But he’s talked about how that stretch with Michael stayed with him in a way the rest didn’t.
Five fittings. One casual phone call that started it all. And five quiet words at the end that told him he’d gotten it exactly right.