Bob Mackie, the designer whose glittering costumes helped shape Hollywood glamour, has died aged 87. He died from pneumonia in Palm Springs, California, on Monday, his publicist Jenelle Hamilton confirmed.
A statement shared on his social media account said Mackie had fulfilled his ambition of becoming a fashion and costume designer, adding that his designs would “live on forever”.
Bob Mackie’s Hollywood legacy
Born in Monterey Park, a suburb of Los Angeles, Mackie was captivated by Technicolor musicals as a child. He designed costumes for his mother and sister, worked on costume and set design at school and later studied advertising, illustration and costume design.
His breakthrough came in 1966, when he created a new look for actress, singer and dancer Mitzi Gaynor. The work brought him to the attention of Carol Burnett, who hired him for The Carol Burnett Show.
Mackie and Burnett developed a close friendship and collaborated on a series of memorable comic costumes. Among them was Burnett’s parody of Scarlett O’Hara, in which she wore a green curtain dress complete with its curtain rod.
He went on to work on The Sonny and Cher Show after Cher appeared on Burnett’s programme and took a liking to his designs. Mackie later created many of Cher’s most recognisable stage and red-carpet outfits, including the beaded, midriff-baring gowns she wore to the Academy Awards.
Cher accompanied Mackie to the 1974 Met Gala wearing a sheer, beaded gown with feathered sleeves and a feathered skirt. The pair and the dress later appeared on the cover of Time magazine.
“My philosophy is watch what they do, how they work on stage, how they walk, how they sit,” Mackie said in an interview in October 2025. “It is very important. You can’t just put a dress on anybody.”
Of Cher, he added: “Cher was never intimidated by one thing I ever put on her — ever.”
A designer to the stars
Known as the “Designer to the Stars”, Mackie won nine Emmy Awards and a Tony Award, and received three Oscar nominations. He was inducted into the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences’ Hall of Fame in 2002.
His clients included Madonna, Barbra Streisand, Sharon Stone, Diana Ross and Julia Louis-Dreyfus, while he also created concert costumes for Pink. Streisand wore one of his designs in Funny Lady, earning Mackie an Oscar nomination.
He designed the sheer, beaded gown worn by Marilyn Monroe when she sang “Happy Birthday” to President John F Kennedy at a 1962 fundraiser. His work has also been worn in recent years by Anya Taylor-Joy, Miley Cyrus, Zendaya and Taylor Swift.
Sequins and embellishment became hallmarks of his work, earning him nicknames including the Sultan of Sequins, the Rajah of Rhinestones and the Guru of Glitter. His guiding principle was: “You don’t try to change anybody, you just try to make them look better than ever.”
Mackie also designed for the stage, working on productions including On the Town, Moon Over Buffalo, Minnelli on Minnelli and The Cher Show, for which he won his Tony Award.
He launched a ready-to-wear line in 1982 and later became an early partner of QVC. His influence continued through the use of his archive designs by younger performers and fashion figures.
Mackie was married to showgirl Lulu Porter from 1960 to 1963. Their son, make-up artist Robert Gordon Mackie Jr, died from Aids at the age of 35, while Mackie’s long-term partner, costume designer Ray Aghayan, died in 2011.
He is survived by Porter, his granddaughter Alyssa Townsend and his granddaughters Kyla and Keira Townsend.
