Recently the Maori decided that Elton John should drop the staid black-suited look and get back to his flashy roots. Luckily, they had just the garment to help him get there: a handmade bird-feather cloak–the “equivalent to an Academy Award”–that they awarded to Sir Elton in honor of his “loyal continuance to return to Aotearoa to entertain.”

As of yet there are no pictures of Elton draped in this cloak, its colorful tails whipping behind him in the New Zealand wind as he stands atop his piano in four-inch platforms shooting off Roman candles into the sky while still somehow managing to bang out an extended version of “Benny and the Jets,” but we can only assume that the Maori’s gift has inspired such greatness. Here is a picture of Prince Charles receiving one, just to give you an idea of how it might look:

That cloak is wearing you, Charles!

Elton John gifted rare Maori cloak [New Zealand Herald]