10 Stories About Evel Knievel You Won't Believe
5. His Fashion Inspiration Was Liberace
Other than his motorcycles, Knievel’s most iconic possession was his star-spangled jumpsuit complete with matching cape and boots, one of which sold for over $100,000 in 2017. Despite the obvious white-suit connection to Elvis Presley, it’s said that it was actually Liberace who inspired Knievel’s flamboyant costume.
The colour of the suit was another marketing tactic to dissociate himself from the Hell’s Angels. Whilst they were known for their black leather jackets, Knievel favoured a pristine white suit, which he accentuated with stars and stripes to show his patriotism and a cape to add to his superhero image.
Even in his private life, Knievel had an ostentatious dress sense as evidenced by his 1973 appearance on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson, during which he wore an enormous fur coat complete with a cane that contained a hidden liquor compartment.