The China Mail - Bob Mackie, costume designer for Cher and Madonna, dies aged 87

Bob Mackie, whose costume and fashion work dressed some of Hollywood’s best-known entertainers, died on September 14 at 87, according to a statement released through his social media accounts.

The statement described design as his lifelong ambition and said he had spent his life fulfilling it. Mackie became known for elaborate glamour, Cher’s revealing stage and red-carpet outfits and the comic costumes he created for Carol Burnett.

His honours included nine Emmy Awards and a Tony Award. He was nominated for three Oscars, including for Barbra Streisand’s Funny Lady, in which his designs included a sheer batwing gown. In 2002, he was inducted into the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences’ Hall of Fame.

Alongside Cher and Burnett, Mackie designed gowns for Madonna, Streisand, Sharon Stone, Diana Ross and Julia Louis-Dreyfus, as well as concert costumes for Pink.

His early work included the sketch that conceived Marilyn Monroe’s sheer beaded gown for her performance of Happy Birthday at a fundraiser for President John F. Kennedy and the Democratic National Committee.

F.Jackson--ThChM