Michael Jackson 1958-2009

MOONWALK MOMENT

Debuting the moonwalk live at the Motown 25th Anniversary celebration in 1983, the dancing star wore his signature cropped pants – designed to show off his intricate footwork to its fullest – with sparkling socks, shirt and his omnipresent penny loafers. Ken Luftig Viste, curator of the Grammy Museum’s Michael Jackson: HIStyle exhibition, explains, "He'd wear an elaborate outfit like this so that even the people in the farthest rows could see him dance because the crystals are flashing under the lights.The white socks really also showed off the way he danced, the ways he could move and how much of that was footwork,” says Luftig-Viste. “He wanted people to be able to see him dance.”