Rushka Bergman is a Serbian American artist, fashion editor and film director. She is best known for being the personal stylist of American singer Michael Jackson and acted as creative consultant and costume designer for his This Is It concerts in London.[1][2] She is currently the creative consultant of rapper Nicki Minaj.
Rushka Bergman | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | |
| Education | University of Belgrade Faculty of Economics |
| Occupations |
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| Years active | 1996–present |
| Known for | Personal stylist for Michael Jackson |
| Title | Contributing Fashion Editor for L'Uomo Vogue and Vogue Italia |
| Website | www.rushkabergman.com |
Background
editBergman was born in Serbia, and received her degree from the University of Belgrade Faculty of Economics. Shortly thereafter she moved to Ghana and continued her education in fine art. She is now based in New York City.[3]
Career
editAfter moving to New York in 1996, Bergman began working as a stylist immediately.[4] In 2000, she participated in the creation of the Giorgio Armani exhibit in collaboration with The Guggenheim Museum and Royal Academy of Arts in London.[citation needed] She also worked with photographer Tom Munro on the accompanying book, Giorgio Armani, for which she helped to create the cover as well as many of the images inside. In 2004, Bergman collaborated with Bryan Adams on Calvin Klein's book American Women, where she styled some of America's most unforgettable women, including former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Bergman often collaborates with filmmaker/photographer Francesco Carrozzini. She was the costume designer for his short film 1937 which was selected at the 2008 Venice Film Festival.[5] Bergman has worked for many years as a contributing fashion editor at Vogue Italia and L'Uomo Vogue and has styled over 80 covers to date.
Her notable subjects include musicians such as Michael Jackson, Madonna, Jay-Z, Beyoncé, Nicki Minaj, Zayn Malik, Sting, David Byrne, Björk, Kanye West, Frank Ocean, Usher, Sean Combs, A$AP Rocky, and Snoop Dogg; directors Steven Spielberg, Tim Burton, David Cronenberg, David Lynch, Quentin Tarantino, Ang Lee, Oliver Stone, Bennett Miller, Stephen Frears, Wong Kar-Wai, Darren Aronofsky, and David Fincher; actors Robert De Niro, Morgan Freeman, Christoph Waltz, Mickey Rourke, Tim Roth, Samuel L. Jackson, Robert Downey Jr., Robert Pattinson, Michael Fassbender, Jake Gyllenhaal, Shia LaBeouf, Gerard Butler, Hugh Jackman, Keira Knightley, Alec Baldwin, Stephen Dorff, Taylor Lautner, Mark Ruffalo, Ben Stiller, Daniel Radcliffe, Tobey Maguire, Dane DeHaan, Sarah Gadon, Kim Kardashian, and Shailene Woodley; notable athletes Kobe Bryant, Serena Williams and Neymar da Silva; entrepreneurs Mark Parker, Richard Branson, Charles Annenberg, David Rockefeller, Evan Spiegel, and Jimmy Wales; and artists including Jeff Koons, Marina Abramović, Peter Marino, Rem Koolhaas, Andres Serrano, Shepard Fairey, Ole Scheeren, Sir Jonathan Ive, Shirin Neshat, and Ed Ruscha.[4]
Bergman has worked on beauty campaigns for Shiseido and L'Oreal as well as advertising campaigns for Valentino,[6] Pringle of Scotland, Bally, and Mango,[7][8] amongst others. In 2011, she appeared on America's Next Top Model as a guest stylist for a Michael Jackson-themed photo shoot.[9] In 2014, she was awarded the Nikola Tesla Visual Arts Achievement Award by the Tesla Science Foundation. Bergman received Elle Serbia's International Style Icon award, in November 2015.
Michael Jackson
editAfter meeting Michael Jackson on the set of his 2007 L'Uomo Vogue cover shoot with Bruce Weber, Bergman began to work as Jackson's creative consultant and stylist, and the two became close friends.[10] In addition to being his personal stylist, Bergman collaborated on his costumes for the This Is It concerts with haute couture designers Christophe Decarnin for Balmain, Kris Van Assche for Christian Dior, John Galliano, Riccardo Tisci for Givenchy, and Giuseppe Zanotti.[11]
Nicki Minaj
editRushka Bergman began styling rapper Nicki Minaj on 24 August 2014 for the 2014 MTV Video Music Awards. Since then, they've continued to collaborate on fashion editorials for Vogue Italia, L'Uomo Vogue, Rolling Stone, Billboard and The New York Times, and the Roberto Cavalli Spring/Summer 2015 campaign. Bergman was the creative director of costume design for Nicki Minaj's 2015 European and American The Pinkprint Tour. Bergman has continued to style Nicki Minaj for ongoing TV appearances on The Tonight Show, The View, Saturday Night Live, Good Morning America; and award shows such as: The 2014 MTV Europe Music Awards, The 2015 American Music Awards, The 2015 Grammy Awards, and The 2015 MTV Video Music Awards.
After a couple of years of not styling Minaj, Bergman returned styling Minaj in 2021, styling her in her music video for her collaboration with American rapper Lil Baby titled "Do We Have a Problem?".[citation needed]
Filmography
editFilm
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | 1937 | Costume designer | Short film |
| 2009 | Michael Jackson's This Is It | Herself | Documentary |
| 2012 | Marina Abramović: The Artist Is Present | Featured talent | Documentary |
| The Gun, the Cake and the Butterfly | Herself | Documentary | |
| 2014 | Michael Jackson: The Last Photo Shoots | Documentary | |
| The Pinkprint | Wardrobe & Costume Designer for Nicki Mina | Short film | |
| 2018 | The Last Judgment | Herself | Short film featured at The Tribeca Film Center |
Television
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2010-2011 | America's Next Top Model | Herself / Fashion Editor & Stylist | 8 episodes |
| 2015 | My Time Again | Herself | Television film documentary |
| August 2020 | Unfiltered: Paris Jackson & Gabriel Glenn | 4 episodes |
Music videos
edit| Year | Song | Artist | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | "Only" | Nicki Minaj | Directed by Hannah Lux Davis |
Awards
edit- In 2014, Bergman was awarded the Nikola Tesla Visual Arts Achievement Award by the Tesla Science Foundation.
- In 2015, Bergman received Elle Serbia's International Style Icon award.
- In 2017, The Nicki Minaj Cover of The New York Times Magazine won the top prize at the Society of Publication Designers (SPD) Awards
References
edit- ^ "This Is It movie showcases Michael Jackson's fashion comeback". LA Times. 29 October 2009. Retrieved 20 October 2011.
- ^ "Talking Point: Is This It? | Grazia Talking Points". Graziadaily.co.uk. Retrieved 20 October 2011.
- ^ "Biography". Rushka Bergman. Archived from the original on 9 October 2011. Retrieved 20 October 2011.
- ^ a b "Shop Ghost | Rushka Bergman". Archived from the original on 23 August 2012. Retrieved 10 January 2013.
- ^ "Rushka Bergman - IMDb". IMDb. Retrieved 29 January 2013.
- ^ "Scoop Du Jour: Michael Jackson in Givenchy Via Rushka Bergman". The Imagist. Retrieved 20 October 2011.
- ^ "Lab Daily » H.E. by Mango Spring/Summer 2011 Campaign- Gerard Piqué by Francesco Carrozzini". Labdailyblog.com. 23 February 2011. Retrieved 20 October 2011.
- ^ "Gerard Piqué Shoot For He By Mango Making Of". Wn.com. Retrieved 20 October 2011.
- ^ "Malcolm Harris: Michael Jackson's Stylist Rushka Bergman: "The King of Pop" Costume Exhibition". HuffPost. 14 October 2011. Retrieved 29 January 2013.
- ^ "Michael Jackson. "Non ti dimenticherò mai. Forever, Darling"" – news – people e show". Style.it. Retrieved 20 October 2011.
- ^ "Michael Jackson's style to live on in 'This Is It' film". Latimesblogs.latimes.com. 20 October 2009. Retrieved 20 October 2011.