Sir Elton John gifted a custom jacket by Queensland label Urbbana at his Brisbane show

As he flew in to Brisbane for his final concert here, Sir Elton John was sent a video by a Queensland designer of a custom jacket that took 90 hours of hand beading. His response hit the designer with “huge wave of joy”.

Sir Elton John left his last Australian tour with a memento from a Queensland designer label.

The music megastar, who is also recognised for his global influence in fashion, was gifted a custom embroidered jacket from menswear label Urbbana, which was personally delivered to him at Suncorp Stadium on the night of his Brisbane show in January.

Brand manager Kaan Tavli connected with a contact in John’s team prior to the Australian tour, which was John’s final stint down under, and then passed on the opportunity to Urbbana designer Sam Abi.

Elton John performs at Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane as part of his 2023 Australia & New Zealand Tour. Picture: Markus Ravik

Abi said the handmade jacket took more than 90 hours of embroidery and crystal beading.

“You can imagine how much of an inspiration this man is to my creative vision,” Abi said. “I really wanted this handmade piece to embody the cultural influence Elton has had on fashion over the years. When Kaan came to me with this unique opportunity, I knew this piece had to be something very special to take a place in his wardrobe.”

Tavli took a video of the garment at Urbbana’s Gold Coast store at Pacific Fair and sent it to his contact, who shared it with John and his promoter.

Queensland label Urbbana gifted Sir Elton John a custom embroidered jacket during his Australian tour

“They were on the plane on the way to Queensland when they responded that Elton loves the jacket, and would gracefully like to accept this generous gesture,” Tavli said.

“When I read this text, a huge wave of joy came over me … consisting of back to back air punches and cheering. Our designer Sam Abi was extremely proud that Elton John would have a handmade Urbbana piece in his wardrobe.”

Within two hours of the approval, Tavli had dropped off the jacket to Suncorp Stadium.

The Brisbane show was John’s 237th concert in Australia and his final performance in Queensland before ending his touring career.

Originally published as Sir Elton John gifted a custom jacket by Queensland label Urbbana at his Brisbane show