Legendary fashion and costume designer Bob Mackie, whose dazzling creations helped define Hollywood glamour for generations, died Monday, September 14. He was 87.
The news was announced in a statement shared on Mackie’s official social media:
“It is with a heavy heart that we share the news that Mr. Bob Mackie passed away today. He lived his 87 years to the fullest, fulfilling his dream of being a Fashion and Costume Designer, which is all he ever wanted to do. His genius and extraordinary designs will live on forever, continuing to bring beauty into this world.”
No cause of death was immediately announced.
For the Hollywood Beauty Awards, Mackie will always hold a special place in our history. In 2017, at the 3rd annual Hollywood Beauty Awards, Mackie was honored with Outstanding Achievement in Costume Design & Styling, recognizing a career that had transformed costume design and helped create some of entertainment’s most unforgettable images.
Melissa Rivers presented Mackie with the honor at the ceremony, held February 19, 2017 at Avalon Hollywood.
“Bob Mackie was an iconic designer. He represented everything I created the Hollywood Beauty Awards to celebrate: the artist behind the stars, like Cher and Ann-Margret. His imagination helped shape some of the most unforgettable images in Hollywood and transformed costume design into an art form all its own. I will always be grateful that we had the opportunity to celebrate his extraordinary talent during his lifetime. His brilliance, his glamour and the joy he brought to his work will live on forever,” said Michele Elyzabeth, founder of Hollywood Beauty Awards.
By the time the HBAs honored him, Mackie had already spent more than five decades creating fashion history.
Born in Monterey Park, California, in 1939, Mackie began his professional career as a sketch artist, working with legendary Hollywood costume designers including Edith Head and Jean Louis. Early in his career, he sketched one of the most famous dresses of the 20th century: the sheer, crystal covered gown worn by Marilyn Monroe when she sang “Happy Birthday, Mr. President” to President John F. Kennedy in 1962.
Television would provide Mackie with one of his greatest canvases. After designing for Mitzi Gaynor, he was hired to create the wardrobe for The Carol Burnett Show, remaining with the series throughout its 11 year run. His designs were not simply costumes. They often became part of the comedy itself. Among the most famous was Carol Burnett’s curtain dress from the show’s Gone With the Wind parody, an image that became part of television history.
His relationship with Cher became one of the most celebrated collaborations between a performer and designer. Beginning with The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour, Mackie helped create the fearless visual identity that would follow Cher for decades. Feathers, beads, sequins, elaborate headdresses and his daring illusion gowns turned red carpets, television appearances and concert stages into theatrical events.
Mackie’s designs were worn by an extraordinary roster of entertainers, including Diana Ross, Tina Turner, Judy Garland, Liza Minnelli, Elton John, Whitney Houston, Dolly Parton, Madonna, Ann Margret, Bette Midler and many others. New generations continued to discover his work, with his designs appearing on contemporary stars including Miley Cyrus, Zendaya and Taylor Swift.
His achievements extended across television, film and Broadway. Mackie received 32 Emmy nominations and won nine Emmy Awards, beginning with the first Emmy ever awarded for costume design for Alice Through the Looking Glass. He received three Academy Award nominations for costume design and was inducted into the Television Academy Hall of Fame.
In 2019, more than half a century after beginning his career, Mackie won the Tony Award for Best Costume Design of a Musical for The Cher Show. That same year, the Council of Fashion Designers of America honored him with its Geoffrey Beene Lifetime Achievement Award.
Yet awards tell only part of Bob Mackie’s story.
His work understood something essential about entertainment: sometimes a costume should not disappear into the background. It should make an entrance. Mackie created clothes that moved with performers, reflected their personalities and helped transform them into icons.
When the Hollywood Beauty Awards honored Bob Mackie in 2017, it was a celebration of an artist whose imagination had already influenced generations of costume designers, stylists and performers.
Today, we remember our HBA honoree and one of Hollywood’s true masters of glamour.
Bob Mackie was 87.
