Led Zeppelin lead singer Robert Plant said of clothier Bernard Lansky and his work with Elvis, “He threw fabric, style, and color onto the shoulders of the whirlwind-together they saved us from the grey.”
There is no doubt that Elvis Presley was, and still is, an icon. He’s sold more records, over one billion, than anyone, ever. He had 140 songs reach the Billboard charts. In the decade ending in 2020, Elvis was still the number 10 seller of records worldwide, with over 9 million units sold. His fan club members still number in the millions. A new film, “Elvis,” is a box office hit forty-five years after Presley’s death.
Lesser known in the public eye is the behind-the-scenes role that Memphis clothier Bernard Lansky played in developing the style that was an integral part of Elvis’s image. His role was so significant that, when Lansky passed in 2012, his death was covered in newspapers everywhere, including in London and even Saudi Arabia. His legacy continues now as his store, Lansky Brothers, celebrates its 75th year. Bernard’s son, Hal, and Hal’s daughter, Julie, run the company. They love sharing the Lansky/Elvis story with guests.
Just after WWII, two enterprising brothers, Bernard and Guy Lansky, decided to go into business in Memphis. Securing a $150 loan from their father, they found a location on Beale Street. At that time, Memphis was home to one of the largest Army depots in the country, and the brothers saw an opportunity. Lansky Brothers began selling military surplus apparel, and business was good.
A couple of years later, the clothing supply began to dry up, and the brothers sought their next model. Memphis was starting to be a hub for the emerging soul and R&B artists and the new rock and roll. With its clubs, restaurants, and stores, Beale Street was the epicenter. Sun Studio had opened in 1950 on nearby Union Avenue, drawing blues icons like Howlin’ Wolf and B.B. King. In the mid-1950s, more mainstream artists like Carl Perkins, Johnny Cash, and Roy Orbison began recording there, and these musical styles started blending into what would become rock and roll.
This emerging scene led the store into a “fashion-forward” style. Bernard Lansky referred to the look as “real sharp.” Most men’s wardrobes were black, white, tans, and shades of gray in the day. Lansky’s began focusing on what they called “Lifesaver colors,” reds, yellows, oranges, purples, and greens. These new looks were stage-ready, with two-toned pants with no back pockets and more fitted legs, mandarin collared shirts, and custom designs in mohair and silk. The new business model was immediately popular, and the store soon became a regular stop for artists like Sam and Dave, Duke Ellington, and Count Basie.
Bernard Lansky loved people. Hal says of his Dad, “He could relate to a street cleaner or a Fortune 500 CEO. After you talked with him for 30 minutes, it was like being a long-term best friend.” Lansky loved to stand in the store’s doorway and chat with passersby. In 1952, this led to one of the great chance meetings of all time.
Elvis Presley was a high schooler, working as an usher at the nearby Loew’s theater. He was a fan of the “flashy” clothing displayed in Lansky’s storefront. Bernard Lansky had observed the handsome teenager looking through the window and struck up a conversation one day. He took the young man on a store tour, but Elvis could only afford a $3 shirt. Lansky later recalled, “He told me, ‘These are beautiful things. I like everything. I don’t have no money now, but when I get rich, I’ll buy you out.’ I told him, ‘Do me a favor. Don’t buy me out, just buy from me'”.
Elvis became a payday shopper, buying a shirt, hat, or pair of shoes weekly. Lansky soon dressed Elvis for his junior-senior prom with a pink coat and a pink and black cummerbund, beginning the association with pink as Elvis’s trademark color. Lansky later tailored a pink leather coat that matched the singer’s pink Cadillac.
In 1954, Elvis began saving his money to buy recording time in Sun Studio. Owner Sam Phillips noticed the young man’s talent and helped Elvis release his first singles regionally. These led to Heartbreak Hotel in 1956, which topped the charts and opened the door for T.V. appearances.
Elvis turned to his Memphis clothing connection for his outfits for the Louisiana Hayride, The Dorsey Brothers Show, and The Steve Allen Show. His outfit on the Milton Berle Show, a Lansky grey-striped jacket with a velour collar, inspired the “Teddy Boy” look, popular in Great Britain. Then, the pinnacle of television, The Ed Sullivan Show, invited Elvis to appear. In what would be the most-watched television episode of the decade, sixty million viewers tuned in to see the nation’s hottest talent, who was sporting a plaid jacket designed by Lansky that soon became the rage.
Lansky continued to shape the style of the King with peg-leg trousers, oversized brightly colored shirts, patent leather half-boots, and the common appearance of pink. Elvis called the Lansky style his “hillbilly cat” look, declaring that “cat clothes are a must as far as I’m concerned,” Lansky recalled Elvis saying. Elvis also became known for his flipped collars, a suggestion from Bernard to highlight the young man’s ducktail haircut.
Their 1952 meeting began a life-long friendship. Even though Bernard always asked Elvis to call him by his first name, the polite young man always referred to him as Mr. Lansky. Once, Elvis’s record label had surprised him with a new car, a rare German Messerschmitt. He traded it to Bernard for a shopping spree in the store. Elvis’s clothing tastes changed over the years, but his loyalty to Lansky’s never wavered. He never forgot the role Lansky played in his success. He would stop in the store, shop for himself, and often pick up the tab for other shoppers. Elvis was so famous that the store arranged for him to come in after hours, which evolved into sending selections to Graceland.
When Elvis died in 1977, Mr. Lansky was asked to dress him for burial. He later said, “I put his first suit on and his last suit on. It was kind of tough, but I had a job to do. I put him in the casket after he died. He had a white suit, white shirt, and a blue tie. I wanted it to be beautiful.”
Lansky’s has four stores in Memphis’s world-famous Peabody Hotel today. Visitors from around the world drop by to “Shop where the King Shopped.” Countless celebrities have trusted Lansky’s for style advice. Photos of their famous clientele line the walls.
Next to the photos, the walls are lined with dozens of autographed guitars. Nearby, you’ll see the “Clothier to the King” apparel line. Paying tribute to the King himself, it’s a line with reproductions of clothing Elvis wore, plus other items inspired by the style sense he and Bernard created.
Hal says of the Lansky business model today, “If we had just focused on white button-downs and navy blazers, we might have been gone years ago.” Instead, they have stayed the course with cutting-edge fashions. Hal says, “If you come in to get a suit for a job interview, you might not get the job. If you come in for a suit to go out on Saturday night, you might get the girl of your dreams”.
Jerry Schilling, a member of Elvis’s inner circle, known as the Memphis Mafia, once said, “Sam Phillips recorded Elvis and played Elvis music, and Bernard Lansky clothed Elvis. Together, they changed the world.
