the legendary fashion designer whose exuberant style defined Hollywood glamour for decades
asserted
style → define → decades
He died in Palm Springs, California, from pneumonia, his publicist Jenelle Hamilton confirmed to CBS News.
"It is with a heavy heart that we share the news that Mr. Bob Mackie passed away today," a post on his social media account said.
asserted
post → die → account
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.
asserted
he → live → dream
His genius and extraordinary designs will live on forever, continuing to bring beauty into this world.
asserted
genius → live → world
Inspired by Hollywood glamour
Born in the Los Angeles suburb of Monterey Park, Mackie embraced the idea of Hollywood movie glamour as a young child, inspired by Technicolor musicals.
asserted
Mackie → inspire → musicals
He would dream up elaborate costumes for his mother and sister and sketch them, and he was active in costume and set design of his high school plays.
asserted
he → dream → plays
He went to Pasadena City College to study advertising and illustration and then costume design at LA's Chouinard Art Institute.
asserted
He → go → Institute
He was tapped to create a new look for actress, singer and dancer Mitzi Gaynor in 1966, according to a biography on his website.
uncertain
He → tap → website
"This was a marriage made in heaven with dance, glamour and comedy all in one package," the biography read.
asserted
biography → make → package
The look caught the attention of Carol Burnett, who hired him to design the wardrobe for "The Carol Burnett Show," putting the legendary comedian in some of her kookiest getups.
asserted
who → catch → getups
He and Burnett had a close friendship and collaborated on memorable characters such as Nora Desmond, Eunice and her take on Scarlett O'Hara in "Gone With the Wind" — called Starlet O'Hara — wearing her green curtain dress on its rods.
asserted
He → have → rods
Mackie's TV work continued on "The Sonny and Cher Show," after Cher guest-starred on Burnett's show and took a liking to him.
asserted
Cher → continue → him
He had said that her Laverne character, with her leopard-print jumpsuit and dangling earrings, was one of his favorites.
asserted
character → say → favorites
He and Cher took a much sexier turn when she moved to movies and was invited to the Academy Awards.
asserted
she → take → Awards
All those beaded, belly-baring numbers she'd wear on the stuffy red carpets came from Mackie.
asserted
she → bar → Mackie
Cher wrote Monday on X: "My dear Bob has gone up to heaven.
asserted
Bob → write → heaven
Knowing him, he's bringing Sequins, Beads, & his sketch pad.
asserted
he → know → Sequins
Mackie attended the 1974 Met Gala with Cher on his arm, dressed in what is perhaps one of the most famous so-called naked dresses of all time: a sheer beaded gown with white feathered sleeves and a white feathered skirt.
asserted
what → attend → sleeves
She and the dress ended up on the cover of Time magazine.
asserted
She → end → magazine
He
in October 2025 that he sketched his designs, but watching the stars perform was part of his process.
asserted
stars → sketch → process
"My philosophy is watch what they do, how they work on stage, how they walk, how they sit," he said.
asserted
he → watch → stage
You can't just put a dress on anybody."
asserted
You → put → anybody
He added: "You just don't know until you meet them and watch them perform that they're that woman, that kind of a girl.
asserted
they → add → girl
I mean Cher was never intimidated by one thing I ever put on her — ever."
asserted
I → mean → her
"Designer to the Stars"
Dubbed the "Designer to the Stars," Mackie won nine Emmy Awards, a Tony Award and
asserted
Mackie → dub → Awards
was nominated for three Oscars, including one for Barbra Streisand's "Funny Lady," in which she wore a sheer batwing gown.
asserted
she → nominate → gown
He was inducted into the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences' Hall of Fame in 2002.
asserted
He → induct → 2002
He designed gowns for Madonna, Streisand, Sharon Stone, Diana Ross and Julia Louis-Dreyfus, and concert costumes for Pink.
asserted
He → design → Pink
When Marilyn Monroe delivered a breathy, seductive take on "Happy Birthday" at a fundraiser for President John F. Kennedy and the Democratic National Committee, she did it in a sheer, beaded gown that Mackie dreamed up in a sketch.
asserted
Mackie → deliver → sketch
His influence can be seen in the styles of Kendall Jenner and Bella Hadid.
asserted
influence → see → Jenner
His archival pieces are worn today by the likes of Anya Taylor-Joy, Miley Cyrus and Zendaya, the latter of whom wore a Mackie gown to honor Cher at the 2024 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony.
asserted
latter → wear → ceremony
When Taylor Swift wanted to look like a showgirl on the cover of her 2025 album "The Life of a Showgirl," she turned to some Mackie originals.
asserted
she → want → originals
"It was kind of a surprise because I didn't know she had those clothes," Mackie told "CBS Mornings" of Swift using one of his designs.
asserted
Swift → know → designs
"She borrowed them from the place in Vegas, the big casino."
asserted
She → borrow → Vegas
Sequins and embellishment were natural tools for Mackie — other nicknames were the Sultan of Sequins, the Rajah of Rhinestones and the Guru of Glitter — but he had a simple motto: "You don't try to change anybody, you just try to make them look better than ever," he told The Associated Press in 2018.
asserted
he → have → 2018
On Broadway, Mackie dressed the casts of "On the Town" in 1971 and "Moon Over Buffalo" in 1995.
asserted
Mackie → dress → 1995
He also created costumes for Burnett in the revue "Putting It Together," Debbie Reynolds in "Debbie" in 1976, Liza Minnelli in "Minnelli on Minnelli" in 1999 and, most recently, the cast of "The Cher Show," winning his Tony Award.
asserted
He → create → Award
Mackie had some retail success in the 1980s and '90s, launching a ready-to-wear line in 1982 that would ultimately land on the runway at New York Fashion Week, and he was an early partner of QVC.
asserted
he → have → QVC
Mackie was married to showgirl Lulu Porter from 1960 until 1963; their son, makeup artist Robert Gordon Mackie Jr., died from AIDS at age 35.
asserted
son → marry → age
Costume designer Ray Aghayan, his longtime partner, died in 2011.
asserted
Aghayan → die → 2011
…and 1 more, not listed.
The Aporia
