Designer Bob Mackie, Known for His Spangled Creations for Cher and Carol Burnett, Has Died at 87

Bob Mackie, the Emmy- and Tony-winning fashion designer and costumer, has died, according to a statement released on his Instagram account. He was 87.

“It is with a heavy heart that we share the news that Mr. Bob Mackie passed away today,” it read. “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.” A cause of death has not yet been revealed.

Born Robert Gordon Mackie in Monterey Park, California, Mackie had one year of art school under his belt when he began work in the costume department at Paramount Studios, sketching for Frank Thompson (whose credits included Gentlemen Prefer Blondes). He went on to assist Ray Aghayan, a costumer at Paramount who would become Mackie’s partner for more than 50 years, until Aghayan’s death in 2011.

After a spell sketching for the costume designer Jean Louis, Mackie was tapped by the actress and dancer Mitzi Gaynor to design the wardrobe for her show in Las Vegas—thus beginning Mackie’s decades-long association with a parade of singular divas.

“When you’re designing for performers, you have to think about what does the audience want to see them look like—especially if they’re playing big theaters or stadiums,” Mackie told Vogue in 2024. Thus, the hallmarks of his eye-popping style: short, swingy, sometimes semisheer dresses resplendent with sequins, crystals, and feathers.

Other women in Mackie’s orbit eventually included Diana Ross (whom he and Aghayan dressed for Lady Sings the Blues, together earning an Academy Award nomination), Carol Burnett, Judy Garland, Liza Minnelli, Bernadette Peters, Tina Turner, Donna Summer, and Dolly Parton. But Mackie’s flair for showstopping drama would also find fans in the likes of Miley Cyrus, Sabrina Carpenter, Taylor Swift, and Zendaya.

Yet it was his work with Cher—for The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour, The Sonny & Cher Show, and her solo variety programs, as well as special occasions like the Academy Awards—that would perhaps be Mackie’s greatest legacy. “I met Bob when I was 19,” Cher told Vogue in 2019.“It was truly love at first sight. Sometimes we don’t even have to talk, we just know. We’re like two mischievous kids getting into trouble.”

Added Mackie: “When I first started doing Cher, these starlets were coming out of the woodwork. They’d want me to do a dress—‘something like Cher’s’—and I’d just say, ‘You’re not Cher.’” Mackie immortalized that long collaboration by designing the Tony-winning costumes for The Cher Show, which ran on Broadway from 2018–2019.

Among Mackie’s other accolades were Oscar nominations for the costumes in 1976’s Funny Lady and 1982’s Pennies From Heaven and nine competitive Emmys. He was inducted into the Television Hall of Fame in 2002.

His survivors include a granddaughter and great-granddaughters.

This article was originally published on Vogue.com.