George Michael's Too Funky

“Moulin Rouge Meets Vegas!” An Oral History of George Michael’s 1992 “Too Funky” Video

 

 As we continue to assess the Fall 2016 season, we’re left wondering: Where’s the fun in fashion these days? 
And nowhere was that fun more in evidence than in George Michael’s 1992 “Too Funky” video. “It was the height of fashion,” says performer Joey Arias, of the moment in which it was shot. “Everybody wanted to be those supermodels vogueing the runway!” 

 

(Or, as Michael would say, “Everybody wants a lover like that.”)
Looking for a good time, we decided to put together an oral history of “Too Funky,” which more than holds its own against the MTV- and fashion-friendly "Freedom 90" with its cast of supermodels Christy Turlington, Cindy Crawford, Linda Evangelista, Naomi Campbell, and Tatjana Patitz.

 

A rallying cry for individuality, “Freedom! ’90” became fashion history when it was lip-synched by the supers on Gianni Versace’s runway. “Too Funky,” with its Anne Bancroft voice-over, is lighter fare lyrically. Visually, it approaches the Baroque, especially in contrast to the squatter-like set of “Freedom! ’90.” Evangelista was the only returning member of the cast, but she was joined by top models including Nadja Auermann, Tyra Banks, Estelle Lefébure, and a “cast of thousands” culled from clubs on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean.

 

Michael hired Thierry Mugler—the French dancer turned designer known for his dramatic silhouettes and audacious showmanship who now goes by Manfred—to shoot the video. Lefébure, who says she’d be happy to repeat the experience, describes the creative team of Mugler and Michael as “two masters with strong personalities and visions.” Inevitably, they came to loggerheads.

 

 The atmosphere, says performer Julie Newmar, quickly became one of “hysteria, lots of smoking and raw nerves.” By the end of the shoot, Michael was longing for his freedom from Mugler, and Mugler was learning that sometimes clothes can unmake the man.

 

Thankfully, art triumphed in the end. “Too Funky,” because of its costume drama, is guaranteed to make you smile and hit replay.

EMMA SJÖBERG WIKLUND (model who wears the motorcycle outfit and robot costume in the video): The “Too Funky” video was made to raise money for AIDS research. Somehow I think George Michael was then in a conflict with Sony, so he was not able to do any albums before his contract was over . . . but he could do this song, “Too Funky,” that was put onto the Red Hot + Dance album.

 

 I know that George wanted to work with Thierry Mulger because his shows were a bit like cabarets—it was more like going to a theater show; it was extraordinary. Mugler always had big surprises . . . there was always some kind of music combined with these incredible outfits. The video was a charity job; we all did it for free.

DANILO (the video’s hairstylist): George knew Naomi, Christy, Linda . . . all the girls, who were all the girls who walked with us [in Mugler’s camp]. And who didn’t know Thierry at that point? We had incredible stars walking our runway and an eclectic mix of phenomena going on. George was fully aware and would show up at shows because [Mugler] was the show to be at, you know. It was an amazing event socially. Also, I think Thierry and his views on sexuality and sensuality were things that very much titillated George because I think he was bound at that time in his life.

 

JOEY ARIAS (a performer who plays the video’s couturier): George Michael contacted Mugler, and Mugler came up with the storyboard, which he does very beautifully, with Stefano Canulli, who does all the final drawings, and presented this to George, and George gave approval. He said: “Yes, this is it!”

 

DANILO: We all donated our time. It took place in Paris and Thierry Mugler and George Michael were the directors, they collaborated. George brought the song and Thierry brought the visuals, that’s really how the collaboration came down. As far as the work, we busted our asses and it went on for three days. We were all so passionate about it. There was an interesting element going on there, too. Because the directors were butting heads, we the collective said: “You know what? This is all about AIDS. It’s not about anything but that, we need to move ahead.” So we really tightened as a group even more then. It was a blast, and it was very hard work, and I never tire of looking at it, it’s so well done.

 

JULIE NEWMAR (Catwoman actress and sometime Mugler model who plays a midinette who goes mad): Mugler wanted to show that the backstage of a couture show was hysteria, whereas in front of the camera it was all glamorous and cool.
ARIAS: Mugler’s characters were superhuman. No one’s just mediocre, it’s all about superhumans: the thinnest and the tallest and the most extreme and the most beautiful. But [it is also about] adoring the human form, not making fun of women or males. Mugler loves the form and he loves to push how far it can go.

DANILO: The last 10 years of Mugler [the designer left his namesake house in 2003], I was his head hairdresser. I would go to Paris for two weeks to prepare, and I had my own salon and I just built wigs and built wigs . . . this was one of them, but this one had its own category because it was more of a theater wig. The inspiration was Mugler, Marilyn, Dietrich—all of those things—and a contemporary finish. So it had that wave and the curl [that is] a little bit like a Nike swoosh . . . It’s so expressive on its own. That particular wig . . . became very iconic for [Linda]. It had a helmet quality to it [and was treated] with wig varnish so that it never moved.

 

SJÖBERG WIKLUND: I started working as a model in Paris around 1989. I had a background as a dancer from Sweden. Because Mugler’s shows were very theatrical, he wanted us to do things like dance or act or pose or look like insects or whatever his vision was. It suited me very well as a person, and we got along very well. And of course he wanted people to be able to walk in his shoes—that was one of the most important requirements! They were very high and not always made for walking, but they looked fabulous. I was very fortunate to be working with him for many years and to be wearing some of these amazing pieces that he did [including the Harley-Davidson bustier that would later feature in Beyonce’s Sasha Fierce visuals]. On the runway it was Niki Taylor who wore it, and then I got to wear the motorcycle in the video. [Mugler told me:] “You should have chewing gum, and you should play with it, you work it.”

ARIAS: Connie Fleming is trans. She used to be at the Boy Bar and Mugler saw her [there]. It was on Eighth Street and every week it had this drag show—really big productions, amazing. And so Connie Girl came out—in those days she was like a size 3 and she was in like 9-inch heels, almost like ballerina shoes—and she came out and she did these kind of flips, flipping up and down and twirling, and the place went insane and Mugler was like: “Oh, my God, I gotta use her,” and then put her on the runway. So that’s her with that Cowgirl suit.

ARIAS: I’d met Mugler in 1980 with Klaus [Nomi]. It wasn’t until the late ’80s that he’d start popping around some of my shows, and we started talking about this and that, and then I got an invitation to come to Paris [for “Too Funky.”] That was the first time we actually worked together.
He wanted me to be the couturier, the Edith Head character. I was the one bossing people around. When we first met, he had me in a pantsuit with a low-waisted belt, and then we were talking and he just said: “You know what, I don’t think so, we’re going to put you in a long tight skirt instead.” [I wore] a pleated chiffon skirt almost to my ankles, almost, maybe like three-quarters past my knees, with a pearl corset and then a tight black knit sweater with the jewelry, some kind of necklace wrapped around and some fetish shoes from London.

 

The character was great. Mugler said, “It’s kind of like me. You’re going to be me, but Edith Head. You’re going to be in charge of this house, and you’ve got to put your foot down and really do these things. When I say do that, do it. When [I say] rip that dress, you rip.” It was that beautiful white dress [Linda wore]. There was a scene backstage where I go up to her and [tug] and Mugler goes, “No, no, no, no, no. Please, like this,” and he just went up and went riiiiippppp. I said, “Oh, okay, no problem.” So whenever he said to do something, I just went for it, and he was laughing and said, “Yeah, exactly!”

 

ARIAS: Julie was supposed to be one of the girls backstage. She was fed up with being back there, she was like a revolution. She snaps, she goes berserk, and that’s why I’m trying to slap her to calm her down. I was doing pretend acting and she said: “No, you’ve got to get me going. I want you to really push me and slap the hell out of me.” And I said, “Really?” And she turned around and just slapped me. She goes, “Like that.” I was like, “Okay!” So I shook her. She goes on the runway and I’m trying to stop her, [and there are] all these women walking out in full-on couture, and she comes running out and I’m trying to stop her and she throws that robe off and she’s all latex and she takes over the runway. It was kind of like the ugly duckling that bursts into the beautiful swan.

 

NEWMAR: I was dressed as a midinette, wrapped in white. Mugler had me pushed out onstage, thus embarrassing my character and exposing me out on the catwalk. Someone grabs my white jacket, thus exposing my naked ambitions. I am now in a black vinyl bodysuit, so I throw myself down on the catwalk, my legs in a wide-open split, and this, to my surprise, ended up in George Michael’s version of the video.
DANILO: Julie, who is an amazing woman, [was] hitting it, doing splits on the runway. I think she was 60 or 65 when she was doing that.

 

ARIAS: Julie said, “I’m going to do this, I’m going to do this, but please make sure you get it because I’m only going to do it once, and if you don’t get it I’m very sorry.” I think she walked out once just to make sure the lighting was right, and then they got her into position . . . and then she came out . . . and she kicked and rolled and flipped and did what she did in one take and the place went insane, insane.
NEWMAR: The rest of the production was hysteria, lots of smoking and raw nerves. On the second night real trouble arose. They had gone over the $1 million budget, and I remember holding the producer in my arms, he was weeping from nervous helplessness, exhaustion. That’s when George Michael took over.

 

ARIAS: At one point, two days or three days into it, [George said,] “Okay, I got what I need.” And Manfred said, “Okay, but I’m not done. I’m still shooting and we’ve got two more days.” And George said, “No, I think we’re done,” and there was a big fight. [Manfred said,] “I’m not done.” [George said,] “I said we’re done.” . . . Then George said, “Well, you know what? I’m the one who is the superstar here, not you.” And then Mugler just snapped. There was this fight and everyone was sitting there like, “What the heck is going on?” And then Linda Evangelista was kind of the go-between, and there was a meeting in the back for two hours, I think, and then they both walked out arm in arm and I could see that Manfred was a little like mmmm, but they were like laughing and they said, “We’re going to continue shooting and we’re going to finish this up.” And then George started looking behind the lens and he put those [stills] in himself later on.

 

SJÖBERG WIKLUND: The robot I will never forget because . . . it was made on my body and they had to make a plaster. I still have a picture of it, actually, when I’m fully em-plastered with a corset under it, and then it was literally made in this chrome with little hooks to close it. I know the feeling of a chastity belt after wearing that.

 

Thierry always had a very clear picture of every outfit from every angle, from what wig Danilo was supposed to be doing . . . what model should be wearing [it] . . . how the makeup should be done . . . every detail. [There] would be like 10 or 12 fittings for the outfit; it wasn’t one fitting. You would literally sit half the night in Mugler’s design room and wait for your time. It was fun, but it was crazy if you think about  it: All these fittings for one outfit for the fashion shows.

 

[The robot] was an amazing piece that was really handmade, and of course it didn’t stretch. I was always quite bruised after wearing it, because it had to stay up somehow and so it was kind of tight, and then there was the helmet that was literally made on the skull. Before going out on the runway, of course, you couldn’t have any fingerprints on it, it had to be polished. I remember people with cotton gloves and literally things to clean the windows with to polish the chrome.

                              

ESTELLE LEFÉBURE (a top model who plays a femme fatale in latex): George really respects women, you can feel it. He was directing me, saying, “You look [even more] beautiful if you do this or that.” How many days of your life does George Michael tell you this? It was amazing.
Thierry asked me to play the role of femme fatale: sexy and irresistible to any man. I used to do all Thierry’s shows. [His woman was] powerful, determined, extremely feminine, [a] sexy soldier. For the video, he asked to accentuate that even more. [My outfit was] outrageously hot and my hair was horsehair . . . so hot! Doing a show with Thierry is working with one master; doing a video with Thierry and George is working with double pressure, as you work with two masters with strong personalities and visions. It was one of the most impactful bookings I’ve ever done. People still remember me in that video, with my name written, like Linda, Nadja, and Tyra. It’s a reference, it had a massive impact, even on my life. I’d love to shoot another one.

 

NEWMAR: There must have been 100 of the world’s most beautiful models flown in for this production. There was Linda Evangelista in her white feathers—what gorgeousness. The video is as hot as can be.
DANILO: One of the things I’ve had the pleasure of creating and building and doing structurally is [Linda’s] feather headdress. I went to the maison de plume there in Paris where the family—they did Louis’s, they go so far back. They go into early 1700s, that family. They have extinct feathers in their drawers. This is Paris, where they really take the art serious. I picked all those ostrich plumes that we created into that [headdress]. It’s that kind of detail that goes into everything: working, sketching, drawing, fabricating—all the components.

 

DANILO: I don’t know if you’ve had the pleasure of looking at the director’s cut as opposed to what went out to the public, but a battle ensued at the end of it, that’s why it says “directed by ?” at the end, because George sort of overrode with his power, [it] being his song.
That said, it was an amazing event. Those were the days. We were a family. We were the Muglers and we’d done so much together and to have an opportunity to work in a medium that was contemporary and fresh and fun and push the envelope on many levels—all of that supermodel glamour . . . it was a fashion show on steroids. Moulin Rouge meets Vegas meets this level of chic sophistication.