Recreating the Original Michael Jackson “This Is It” Thriller Jacket for his 2009 Concerts

When Michael Jackson was preparing for his This Is It concerts in 2009, he worked with designer Zaldy to create a completely new wardrobe for the planned shows. The costumes were designed around some of Michael’s most recognizable looks while giving them a new interpretation for the concerts.

One of the designs was this red-and-black Thriller jacket. At first glance, it might look like a variation of the classic Thriller jacket, but there are quite a few differences once you start looking closely.

Unlike many jackets currently listed online as the “This Is It Thriller Jacket,” this is the specific red-and-black design created for the This Is It production, rather than the more commonly reproduced original Thriller jacket. That distinction is important to us because we want to recreate this exact design, including its unique shoulder embroidery and detailing.

The glossy red body, black V-shaped sections, black waistband and cuffs are easy enough to notice, but what really caught my attention is the detailed embroidery and raised decoration around the shoulders, along with the wolf-biting logo on the inside of the jacket. Those details give the jacket much of its character and will probably be some of the more challenging parts to reproduce accurately.

We're planning to recreate this jacket completely from scratch, using the reference images to work out the construction, materials, patterns, colors, embroidery, and smaller details.

Before we start, is there anything in these references that you think we might have missed? Maybe a small detail in the embroidery, stitching, panel placement, or construction that isn't immediately obvious?

I'd love to hear what others notice before we start building it.