Elton John's style evolution in 54 photos: master of embellished suit and statement shades

The British singer is known for being 'sartorially crazy'

Elton John, in a fur coat and metallic boots with flared trousers, poses in the bar of the London Palladium, during rehearsals for the Royal Variety Performance in October 1972. Getty Images

Princess Margaret speaks to Elton John, wearing a white suit with a daisy on his lapel, at an event in 1974. Getty Images

Elton John, wearing a sparkling Los Angeles Dodgers jersey, performs at the Dodger Stadium in 1975. Terry O’Neill / Iconic Images

Elton John, in a jacket with a striped lapel and white sunglasses, with his manager John Reid on their way to a luncheon in honour of Buddy Holly in Holland Park, London on September 8, 1976. Getty Images

Elton John, in a purple sports kit and a safari-style hat, poses by the pool at his villa in Saint-Tropez in the south of France in January 1982. Getty Images

Elton John, in a red patchwork suit, performs at the Hammersmith Odeon in London on December 16, 1982. Getty Images

Elton John, wearing a white morning suit and a straw boater hat, with Renate Blauel on their wedding day at St Mark's Church in Sydney, Australia on February 14, 1984. Getty Images

Elton John, wearing red shorts, a blue jacket and red baseball cap, with Renate Blauel following their wedding on February 14, 1984. Getty Images

Elton John, wearing a grey pin-striped suit, attends the FA Cup Final in Wembley Stadium, London on May 19, 1984. Getty Images

Elton John, in a black suit with sparkling detail, with David Beckham and Italian singer Zucchero Fornaciari during Versace's autumn/winter 1998-99 show in Milan on January 11, 1998. EPA

Elton John, in a lilac suit, with Tony Bennett on stage at the Rainforest Foundation Benefit at Carnegie Hall in New York City on April 17, 1999. ImageDirect

Elton John, wearing a black suit with sparkling detailing and a silver cross, leaves a New York City concert on July 27, 1999. Getty Images

Elton John, in a black suit with a black sequinned animal print pattern, at the 2000 Grammy Awards in Los Angeles on February 23, 2000. ImageDirect

Elton John, in a yellow and pink shit and shirt, performs with rapper Eminem at the 2001 Grammy Awards at the Staples Centre in Los Angeles on February 21, 2001. Getty Images

Elton John, in a black suit with gold embellishment and a gold shirt, and David Furnish arrive at the Elton John post-Oscars party on March 25, 2001 at Moomba restaurant in West Hollywood. Getty Images

Elton John, in a sparkling pinstriped suit, and David Furnish arrive at Vogue's It's Fashion charity gala in Buckinghamshire, England on June 11, 2001. Getty Images

Elton John, wearing a black Adidas tracksuit, records his contribution to disaster relief charity single 'Tears In Heaven' at Caesars Palace, Las Vegas on April 10, 2005. Getty Images

David Furnish and Elton John, wearing a navy suit, arrive at the 'Billy Elliot: The Musical' premiere at the Victoria Palace Theatre, London on May 12, 2005. Getty Images

Elton John, wearing a black coat with pink, feathered pattern over a navy satin shirt and burnt orange wide-legged trousers, performs at the Live 8 London concert in Hyde Park, London on July 2, 2005. Getty Images

Elton John, in a black suit and white ruffled shirt, and Elizabeth Hurley attend a Chopard party during the 59th International Cannes Film Festival on May 20, 2006. Getty Images

Jon Bon Jovi and Elton John, wearing a black shirt with a pink shirt and green tie, attend the Mojo Honours List awards at Shoreditch Town Hall, London on June 5, 2006. Getty Images

Elton John, in a lilac suit and pink T-shirt, and Lyne Wyatt attend the Chanel haute couture autumn/winter 2006/07 show during Paris Fashion Week on July 6, 2006. Getty Images

Elton John, wearing a suit with a crocodile and water print, performs his 'The Captain And The Kid Tour' in Sydney, Australia on November 28, 2006. Getty Images

The crocodile detail on the back of Elton John's suit during the Sydney performance. Getty Images

Elton John, in a red suit, arrives at the Move for Aids event in Sydney, Australia on November 30, 2006. Getty Images

Elton John, in a black jacket with a blue splash pattern and shirt, and David Furnish arrive at a Chopard event during the 60th International Cannes Film Festival on May 25, 2007. Getty Images

David Furnish and Elton John, in a pin-striped suit, arrive at Sir David Frost's summer party on July 5, 2007 in London. Getty Images

Elton John, in a black suit with a blue flower detail, and David Furnish attend the GQ Men of the Year Awards at the Royal Opera House, London on September 4, 2007. Getty Images

Elton John, wearing a black jacket with red floral detail and a red shirt, performs at Emirates Palace, Abu Dhabi on January 22, 2008. Joseph J Capellan / ADMC

Elton John, in a black suit with a 'love' print, performs in Sydney, Australia on May 12, 2008. Getty Images

Elton John, wearing a cream suit with blue edging, wanders through Portofino, Italy on August 12, 2008. Getty Images

Elton John, in a black suit, purple T-shirt and glittering glasses, and David Furnish attend the premiere of 'Gnomeo And Juliet' at the Odeon Leicester Square on January 30, 2011 in London, England. Getty Images

Elton John, in a morning suit with a yellow waistcoat, and David Furnish attend the wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton at Westminster Abbey, London on April 29, 2011. Getty Images

Elton John, in a pink sequinned jacket, performs during Queen Elizabeth Ii's Diamond Jubilee concert at Buckingham Palace, London on June 4, 2012. Getty Images

Elton John, in a purple suit, green checked shirt and metallic green shoes, and Tinie Tempah on the front row for the Richard James spring/summer 2013 show in London on June 17, 2012. Getty Images

Ed Sheeran and Elton John, in a black Adidas tracksuit, pose backstage during the 55th Annual Grammy Awards at the Staples Centre in Los Angeles, California on February 9, 2013. WireImage

Elton John, in a blue suit with diamante detail, performs at 2015 Rock in Rio in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on September 20, 2015. Getty Images

Elton John, in a white suit with a rose pattern, performs live at Twickenham Stoop on June 3, 2017 in London, England. Getty Images

David Furnish and Elton John, in a grey suit with a pink T-shirt, attend the 'Sherlock Gnomes' family gala at Cineworld Leicester Square, London on April 22, 2018. Getty Images

David Furnish and Elton John, wearing a morning suit with a grey waistcoat, leave St George's Chapel at Windsor Castle after the wedding of Meghan Markle and Prince Harry on May 19, 2018 in Windsor, England. Getty Images

Elton John, wearing a mint green suit, and Taron Egerton attend a 'Rocketman' photocall during the 72nd Annual Cannes Film Festival on May 16, 2019. Getty Images

Elton John, in a black suit with a rocket detailing and heart-shaped sunglasses, attends the screening of 'Rocketman' during the 72nd Annual Cannes Film Festival on May 16, 2019. Getty Images

The 'Rocketman' detail on the back of Elton John's suit at the film's Cannes Film Festival premiere in May 2019. Getty Images

Elton John, in a navy tuxedo, attends the 'Rocketman' UK premiere at Odeon Luxe Leicester Square on May 20, 2019 in London, England. Getty Images

Elton John, wearing a black suit with gold initialled embellishment, attends the European premiere of 'The Lion King' at Odeon Luxe Leicester Square on July 14, 2019. Getty Images

Elton John, in a lilac suit, and David Furnish attend the Midsummer Party to raise funds for the Elton John Aids Foundation in Antibes, France on July 24, 2019. Getty Images

Elton John, in a black sequinned suit, performs at the A Day On The Green music festival in Geelong, Australia on December 7, 2019. EPA

Elton John, in a black and white suit with floral detail, performs at Mission Estate, New Zealand on February 6, 2020. Getty Images

Elton John, in a green suit, pays tribute to Billie Jean King during the Laureus World Sports Awards 2021 Virtual Award Ceremony on May 6, 2021. Getty Images

Elton John, in a checked shirt, watches a football match between Watford and Swansea City in Watford on May 8, 2021. Getty Images

Elton John, in a green brocade suit, performs on stage during Global Citizen Live on September 25, 2021 in Paris, France. Getty Images

Elton John, in a dark grey suit, after being made a member of the Order of the Companions of Honour for services to Music and to Charity during an investiture ceremony at Windsor Castle on November 10, 2021 in Windsor, England. Getty Images

Elton John, wearing a green Gucci tracksuit, in the 'Merry Christmas' music video, which debuted on December 3, 2021. Photo: YouTube

Elton John, in a white sequinned suit, performs his 'Farewell Yellow Brick Road Tour' at the Smoothie King Centre, New Orleans, Louisiana on January 19, 2022. AFP

Sir Elton John's style is nothing if not loud.

Since the beginning of his career in the 1960s, the British singer and pianist, 74, has made style statements courtesy of fur coats, metallic platformed boots, sequinned and embellished suits, colourful glasses and eye-catching hats in his 50-plus years in the public eye.

The performer isn't one to shy away from colour. Rarely seen in a block black suit, he instead reaches for lilac, green, blue, mint, red and pink sets, or outfits finished with sequins, Swarovski crystals and metallic rope detailing.

John's Farewell Yellow Brick Road Tour may have been delayed once again, but ahead of the tour, he worked with Gucci's Alessandro Michele to create a stage wardrobe that reflected the different eras of his career.

"I’ve kept an archive of my stage costumes from the very beginning of my career and thought it would be fun to open up my little treasure chest with Alessandro and his design team," John told V Magazine in 2018.

"Seeing how Alessandro reinterpreted key looks for today’s world has unearthed an exhilarating rush of emotions. I can’t believe how sartorially crazy I was, particularly in the 1970s!

"I feel so blessed to have been a songwriter and performer in the ’70s. It was a decade with an unprecedented explosion of creativity in music, fashion, and filmmaking."

His style was dissected in the 2019 film Rocketman, in which Taron Egerton played the singer in his younger years. The film meticulously paid homage to John's most famous looks, from the bejewelled Dodgers jersey, made famous by a 1975 Terry O’Neill photo, to his beloved heart-shaped glasses.

Julian Day, the Rocketman costume designer, said of his creative process, "There’s still quite a lot left in his archive spanning right back to the early 1970s. Although he auctioned off a few pieces to charity, it’s still a great stock. That’s what inspired me in some ways, knowing where Bob Mackie would have got his inspiration from.

"It was quite scattergun. The only theme was outrageousness, exaggeration and being larger than life. Often he decides what he’s going to wear 20 minutes before going on stage and then he becomes Elton John – the pantomime."

Of course, John's style is synonymous with sunglasses – "I'm just not myself without my glasses," he says.

Fittingly, in November, he announced an eyewear collection in collaboration with Walmart, with proceeds going to his charity, the Elton John Aids Foundation.

Offstage and away from the red carpet, the celebrity isn't afraid to dress down in a tracksuit, with Adidas and Gucci looks among his favourites. The latter was his choice for the Merry Christmas music video, which he released with Ed Sheeran in December last year.