Bob Mackie, legendary costume designer to the stars, has died at 87

The legendary costume designer passed away at the age of 87 in a hospital in Palm Springs, California. In his long career he created some of the most extravagant dresses worn by stars

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Bob Mackie has died at the age of 87. The legendary costume designer to the stars has passed away in a hospital in Palm Springs, California. Thanks to his extravagant and spectacular clothes he was nicknamed the "Sultan of sequins". He dressed Cher, Diana Ross, Carol Burnett and Madonna.

The announcement of his passing on Instagram

The news of Bob Mackie's death was given on his Instagram profile where it is remembered that "he lived his 87 years to the full, realizing his dream of becoming a stylist and costume designer, the only thing he ever wanted to do. His genius and his extraordinary creations will live on forever, continuing to bring beauty into the world".

Who was Bob Mackie

Born in Monterey Park, California, in 1939, the same year films like Gone With the Wind and The Wizard of Oz were released, Bob Mackie began his career in Hollywood after dropping out of college to work as a designer for costume designers Jean Louis and Edith Head. Fame came with television, when Carol Burnett chose Mackie as the costume designer for her variety show in 1967. At the time the designer was not yet thirty years old and the collaboration with the American actress and comedian continued for eleven years. Mackie's muse, however, was Cher. The long association with the singer-songwriter began when she and Sonny Bono were hired by CBS for a weekly variety show.

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Bob Mackie and Cher's dresses

Regarding the meeting with Cher, Mackie told Vogue in 2019 that he had seen some photographs of the singer-songwriter and Sonny Bono, in which the two "looked like New Age cavemen, with their fur vests, pants and extravagant belts: something that had never been seen until then". While the producers didn't know what to do with the diva's look, the stylist immediately noticed that she had a body similar to that of Carol Burnett, practically a "human coat hanger". The collaboration, which began with The Sonny and Cher Comedy Hour broadcast from 1971 to 1974, won over the TV audience but caused censorship serious difficulties. Mackie showed off Cher's extraordinary physique more and more, dressing her in increasingly daring and extravagant creations. The nude looks with scattered highlights worn by the diva and created by the designer have become iconic.

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The Sultan of sequins

Mackie helped define the glamorous style of the Seventies, also dedicating sparkling creations to Tina Turner, Bette Midler, Mitzi Gaynor, Liza Minnelli, Elton John and RuPaul. The designer took home nine Emmy awards and a Tony, also becoming a point of reference for gay culture. “For gay kids who, like me or RuPaul, were at home looking for an escape from the grayness that surrounded them, Bob was a portal to another world,” said his biographer DeCaro. "It made women look like drag queens, but in the best sense of the word. It was a window into a glittering, glamorous, fun and inclusive universe," she added. Among her most remembered creations is certainly the dress worn by Cher at the 1986 Oscar ceremony. The singer appeared on stage with tight black trousers, an elaborate jeweled element on the hips, high boots, a black fishnet top and a huge mohawk-shaped headdress covered in feathers. A look destined to become one of the most famous images in the history of fashion on the red carpet. Carol Burnett, on the other hand, estimated the pieces created by the designer for her program at over 17,000. Among the unforgettable outfits is the dress worn by the actress in the sketch Went With the Wind!, a parody of Gone with the Wind. The costume was a comic take on the famous green velvet dress worn by Vivien Leigh in the film, transforming it into a skirt with a curtain rod visible at the top.

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