Bob Mackie, Famed Fashion Designer to Cher and More, Dead at 87 — SkimNews
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- Bob Mackie died at 87, announced via his Instagram account, with no cause of death disclosed.
- Cher led tributes — "he's bringing sequins, beads, and his sketch pad" — after a six-decade partnership that produced looks for The Cher Show, the Met Gala, and her tours, including a costume that made her the first person approved to show her belly button on TV.
- Mackie got his break on The Carol Burnett Show, designing roughly 60 costumes a week, including a curtain-and-rod gown for a Gone With the Wind sketch.
- In the 1980s, Mackie designed limited-edition Barbies for Mattel and pushed the company to release dolls of diverse ethnicities, often dressing them in heritage-reflecting outfits.
- Mackie earned nine Emmys across 30+ nominations, three Academy Award nods, a 2019 Tony for The Cher Show, a 2019 CFDA lifetime achievement award, and in 2002 became the first costume designer inducted into the Television Academy Hall of Fame.
- Modern stars Sabrina Carpenter, Miley Cyrus, Beyoncé, and Taylor Swift have worn archival Mackie looks, with Carpenter declaring herself a "Mackie girl forever."
Why it matters: Mackie's death closes a chapter in Hollywood costume design — he was the first costume designer inducted into the Television Academy Hall of Fame, and his archive now circulates on a new generation of pop stars from Sabrina Carpenter to Taylor Swift, giving his designs a second commercial life rather than a museum afterlife.
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