An iconic designer, yet lesser known, Bob Mackie, has designed for countless Hollywood icons. Mr. Mackie is known for designing costumes for Hollywood icons such as Marilyn Monroe, Judy Garland, Lucille Ball, Marlene Dietrich, Cher, Bette Midler, Barbara Streisand, and Tina Turner, to name a few. His designs hold glamour and burlesque at their core and his designs have won him many accolades, including nine Primetime Emmy nominations, a Tony Award, and an Academy Award for Best Costume Design. Born in Monterey Park, CA in 1939, his father worked for Bank of America. He was raised by his maternal grandparents due to his parents’ divorce and it was during college that he began pursuing a career in fashion design. Now aged 83, Mr. Mackie sells art, jewelry, and luggage bearing his designs on his website.
Mr. Mackie has a lengthy career in fashion. This was undoubtedly an early passion in his life. In 1961, he began designing at Paramount Pictures. One of his first assignments was designing the gown worn by Marilyn Monroe at JFK’s birthday celebration, singing “Happy Birthday, Mr. President.” The gown is likely one of the most controversial and iconic gowns in American history at this point, and it was designed so early into his career! The gown worn at JFK’s Madison Square Garden event is one that is inextricably tied to the history of Hollywood. Bob Mackie holds a strong role in the formation of our conceptions of Hollywood and red carpet glamour. Perhaps this is best shown by his most contemporary work crafting designs for Cher. Some of her most incredible costumes were designed by him!
Mr. Mackie also designed costumes for Diana Ross and The Temptations in 1969. These were nominated for an Academy Award. His designs translate smoothly from the red carpet to the stage because they are inherently focused on a performance oriented mindset, which holds “wow!” at its core. He also designed costumes for Las Vegas burlesque shows during his long career. His design drawings are on showcase at the UNLV (University of Las Vegas) library. It would be fantastic to see more performers embrace the costume interpretation of glamour again that Bob Mackie helped craft so powerfully. Hollywood would appear much less glamorous had Mackie’s designs not been used on the red carpet and in musical performances.
To me, it is rather surprising that Bob Mackie is a lesser known name in mainstream fashion. However, I think this might be due to the fact that his work was not geared towards “ready to wear,” which would entail that shoppers would be purchasing the designs. Since this was not the case, his designs were geared towards the imagery of Hollywood performance as we have become accustomed to. Bob Mackie is an incredible icon for Hollywood fashion and he deserves all of the accolades and attention related to the iconic women he has dressed!
rosybvm.com 