Bob Mackie, the legendary fashion designer whose exuberant, sequin-drenched style defined Hollywood glamour for more than six decades, died Monday in Palm Springs, California, at age 87. His publicist, Jenelle Hamilton, confirmed that the cause of death was pneumonia.
"It is with a heavy heart that we share the news that Mr. Bob Mackie passed away today," read a statement posted to his social media accounts. "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."
Dubbed the "Designer to the Stars," Mackie won nine Emmy Awards, a Tony Award, and was nominated for three Oscars — dressing everyone from Cher and Carol Burnett to Diana Ross and Marilyn Monroe. Here is a closer look at his life, his most iconic designs, and the influence he leaves behind.
From Technicolor Dreams to the "Designer to the Stars"
Robert Gordon "Bob" Mackie was born in the Los Angeles suburb of Monterey Park, where he fell in love with Hollywood movie glamour as a young child, inspired by Technicolor musicals. He would dream up elaborate costumes for his mother and sister and sketch them, and he stayed busy with costume and set design in his high school plays. He later studied advertising and illustration at Pasadena City College, then costume design at L.A.'s Chouinard Art Institute.
Mackie cut his teeth working for the legendary costume designer Edith Head before landing the job that would change his career: designing the wardrobe for "The Carol Burnett Show." The role put the beloved comedian in some of her kookiest getups, and the two became lifelong friends. Together they created unforgettable characters such as Nora Desmond, Eunice, and Burnett's spoof of Scarlett O'Hara — "Starlet O'Hara" — complete with a green curtain dress worn on its rods. That dress now sits in the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History.
"I love doing funny things," Mackie said in a 1999 interview with The Associated Press. "One week I'd have to make Carol an unattractive postal worker, and who knows what I'd have to do the next."
Mackie's television work continued on "The Sonny & Cher Show" after Cher guest-starred on Burnett's show and took a liking to him. He often said that her Laverne character — with her leopard-print jumpsuit and dangling earrings — was one of his favorites.
Timeline: A Six-Decade Career Dressing the World's Biggest Stars
Mackie's career spanned more than 60 years and touched nearly every corner of entertainment. Key milestones include:
- 1966: He is tapped to create a new look for actress, singer and dancer Mitzi Gaynor — a collaboration his website biography called "a marriage made in heaven with dance, glamour and comedy."
- 1974: He attends the Met Gala with Cher, who wears one of the most famous "naked dresses" of all time — a sheer beaded gown with white feathered sleeves and skirt that landed on the cover of Time magazine.
- 1982: He launches a ready-to-wear line that eventually reaches the New York Fashion Week runway and becomes an early QVC partner.
- 2002: He is inducted into the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Hall of Fame.
- 2019: He wins a Tony Award for the costumes of "The Cher Show" on Broadway.
- 2024–2025: Zendaya wears a Mackie gown to honor Cher at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, and Taylor Swift wears Mackie originals on the cover of her album "The Life of a Showgirl."
Along the way, Mackie designed for Madonna, Barbra Streisand, Sharon Stone, Diana Ross and Julia Louis-Dreyfus, and created concert costumes for Pink. He also conceived the sheer, beaded gown Marilyn Monroe wore for her breathy "Happy Birthday" performance for President John F. Kennedy in 1962.
His work with Cher became the stuff of fashion legend. The two took a much sexier turn when Cher moved to movies and began attending the Academy Awards — her beaded, belly-baring red carpet looks all came from Mackie, including the daring black-sequined gown she wore for her best actress win in 1988.
Why Bob Mackie's Designs Still Matter Today
Long after his runway heyday, Mackie's influence never faded. His archival pieces are worn today by Anya Taylor-Joy, Miley Cyrus and Zendaya, and his aesthetic can be seen in the styles of Kendall Jenner and Bella Hadid. A new generation of pop stars — including Sabrina Carpenter on the 2024 MTV VMAs red carpet, Pink on the Grammys stage, and Miley Cyrus at the 2024 Grammys — has turned to his designs to make a statement.
Mackie's secret was always about understanding the person inside the garment. "My philosophy is watch what they do, how they work on stage, how they walk, how they sit," he told "CBS Mornings" in October 2025. "It is very important. You can't just put a dress on 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. I mean Cher was never intimidated by one thing I ever put on her — ever."
That philosophy earned him playful nicknames — the Sultan of Sequins, the Rajah of Rhinestones and the Guru of Glitter — but his motto stayed simple. "You don't try to change anybody, you just try to make them look better than ever," he told the AP in 2018.
Tributes Pour In for the Sultan of Sequins
In the hours after his death, tributes flowed from fellow designers and the stars he dressed. Cher wrote on X: "My dear Bob has gone up to heaven. Knowing him, he's bringing Sequins, Beads, & his sketch pad. Good nite sweet Prince."
Actor Kristin Chenoweth called him a "legend," designer Isaac Mizrahi wrote simply "heartbroken," and actor Alyssa Milano described him as "one of the best that ever was." Canadian model Coco Rocha wrote that "his clothes had wit, drama, fantasy and joy."
The Legacy Bob Mackie Leaves Behind
Mackie's costumes are now treasured pieces of cultural history. A 1975 dress he designed for Cher sold at auction in 2024 for $101,600 — 25 times its original estimate. His "Starlet O'Hara" curtain dress lives in the Smithsonian, and his work continues to be studied by designers and referenced on red carpets around the world.
On Broadway, he dressed the casts of "On the Town" (1971) and "Moon Over Buffalo" (1995), and created costumes for Carol Burnett, Debbie Reynolds and Liza Minnelli. He was married to showgirl Lulu Porter from 1960 to 1963; their son, makeup artist Robert Gordon Mackie Jr., died from AIDS at age 35, and his longtime partner, costume designer Ray Aghayan, died in 2011. He is survived by his granddaughters Alyssa, Kyla and Keira Townsend, and by Porter.
Even in his final years, Mackie never lost his sharp wit about fashion. Reflecting on today's naked dresses, he told The Hollywood Reporter in 2024: "You watch awards shows and say, 'Oh, cover up! Put it away! Honey, I don't need to see all of that!' It gets to be so vulgar, you don't even want to look at it anymore."
The Bottom Line: Bob Mackie's Enduring Influence
- Bob Mackie, the "Designer to the Stars," died Monday at 87 from pneumonia in Palm Springs, California.
- He won nine Emmys, a Tony Award, and was nominated for three Oscars over a six-decade career.
- He dressed Cher, Carol Burnett, Diana Ross, Madonna, Barbra Streisand and Marilyn Monroe.
- His 1974 Met Gala "naked dress" for Cher remains one of fashion's most famous looks and landed on the cover of Time magazine.
- His designs live on through today's stars — including Zendaya, Taylor Swift, Miley Cyrus and Sabrina Carpenter — and in museum collections.
