BOB MACKIE DIED AT 87
There are designers who dress the body, and then there are those who dress fantasies. Bob Mackie unquestionably belonged to the latter. The American designer, who has died at the age of 87, spent nearly six decades creating clothes for some of the most dazzling figures in popular culture, from Cher and Diana Ross to Elton John and Madonna.
Hollywood owes him a particular vision of glamour, one that never apologized for being spectacular. Sequins, feathers, sheer fabrics, plunging necklines, sculptural silhouettes: in Mackie’s world, a garment was never simply a garment. It was an entrance, a performance, sometimes even a character in its own right.
His story with the icons began notably with Marilyn Monroe. In 1962, while working as a young sketch artist alongside costume designer Jean Louis, Mackie drew the famous dress Marilyn would wear to sing “Happy Birthday, Mr. President.” A nude-colored, sheer lace creation embellished with rhinestones and finished with feathers, it was ultimately made by Jean Louis. The idea was already there: transforming a dress into an event.
Television would then become his great playground. On The Judy Garland Show, he met and dressed stars including Liza Minnelli, Lena Horne and Diahann Carroll. Then, in 1967, he joined The Carol Burnett Show, where his imagination seemed to find its perfect stage. He went on to create dozens of costumes each week, continually pushing the boundaries between fashion, comedy and performance.
But to reduce Bob Mackie to his extravagance would be to miss the point. Beneath all the sparkle was a remarkable understanding of the body and movement. Mackie knew what a sleeve could say, what a train could provoke, what a flash of light could do to a silhouette. Above all, he understood that a stage costume had to live, dance, seduce and, at times, quite literally steal the show.
He helped erase the boundaries between stage costume, haute couture and pop culture long before that crossover became the norm. His designs accompanied careers, shaped characters and created images that became inseparable from the performers who wore them.
And then there was the man behind the sequins. Those who knew him speak of a strong personality and an unmistakable presence, but also of extraordinary kindness. A rare combination in an industry where egos can sometimes be as loud as the spotlights.
Bob Mackie leaves behind far more than a legendary wardrobe. He leaves behind a philosophy of spectacle: the belief that fashion can be excessive, joyful, funny, sensual and profoundly free. For him, glamour was never a pose. It was a language, with one rule above all: never dim the light.
FM