The sew must go on: tales of making pop stars' costumes

Behind every unforgettable look is a stylist working overtime – stitching, styling and sometimes spraying vodka – to make sure the talent is dressed to thrill, discovers Michael Hann

- Michael Hann

It is a Thursday night in July 1972, and a one-hit wonder from a few years earlier has been given another shot at Top of the Pops. The camera slowly pans back to reveal the singer, who wears what appears to be Joseph's Technicolor Dreamcoat transformed into a jumpsuit, his hair a bright orange coxcomb. His guitarist looks, literally, like Adonis: he is gold from head to toe, hair and clothes and instrument.

Across the course of three and a half minutes, David Bowie changed the course of his life. And it wasn't just because “Starman” was a great song; it was because every single person who saw that performance remembered what it looked like. That's how Bowie, draping his arm round his guitarist Mick Ronson, the two of them looking like joyfully dissolute elves, communicated to a million kids that they, too, could be something else.

Which is why what a musician wears matters, and why most successful ones have stylists and designers on call. For many artists, it's just a question of stage clothes, with the occasional outfit for awards and parties. The lucky few (usually men, but also Chrissie Hynde and Joan Jett) can get away with a leather jacket and jeans for all occasions. But for some stylists, keeping a star glittering is a full-time job.

Steve Summers has been Dolly Parton's creative director since 2006 (on appointing him, Parton sent him straight to the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York to get up to speed), and has styled her for over 30 years. He is responsible for how she looks at every public appearance, and for liaising with her brand partners to ensure everyone gets the Dolly they deserve.