From BBC News · · 2m
Bob Mackie, the Sultan of Sequins, dies at 87
The man who put Cher in a mohawk headdress and Elton John in a bedazzled Dodgers uniform spent 60 years making stars unforgettable.
In brief
The man who put Cher in a mohawk headdress and Elton John in a bedazzled Dodgers uniform spent 60 years making stars unforgettable. Mackie treated a costume as a piece of storytelling, and the looks he built for Cher, Tina Turner and Elton John are still the images we picture when we think of them. Originally reported…
The Sultan of Sequins
Bob Mackie, the US designer behind decades of dazzling stage and screen costumes, has died at 87. His work dressed Cher, Tina Turner, Dolly Parton and Elton John.
A shelf full of trophies
Over his career he won a Tony and nine Emmys, and picked up three Oscar nominations.
The family statement
His Instagram account confirmed the news on Monday, framing his life as a dream he actually got to live.
“He lived his 87 years to the fullest, fulfilling his dream of being a Fashion and Costume Designer”
Cher's revenge outfit
Snubbed by the Academy for Mask, Cher arrived at the 1986 Oscars in a Mackie showgirl look with a plumed mohawk headdress and a bare midriff. It shocked the room and made fashion history.
“So was dressing that night for a kind of revenge”
He built Cher's image
Mackie told the BBC in 2010 that early-career Cher looked like nobody else in show business. His designs helped make her reportedly the first woman to show her belly button on US television.
“Everybody just went crazy over this woman as she could wear anything”
Elton at Dodger Stadium
Mackie designed the bejewelled Dodgers baseball uniform Elton John wore on stage in Los Angeles in 1975, still one of the most recognisable outfits in pop.
“His costumes were works of art, and he will go down as one of the most legendary designers ever in Hollywood”
Pink's tribute
Pink wore his designs for years, especially on the 2009 Funhouse tour, and called him loving, wickedly funny and a genius.
“There are going to be some fabulously dressed angels”
Working to the end
He was still designing recently. Sabrina Carpenter wore Mackie at last year's MTV VMAs, and Miley Cyrus wore his dress at the 2024 Grammys, the night she won for Flowers.
The life behind the sequins
Born in Monterey Park, California in 1939, he started as a sketch artist and drew Marilyn Monroe's 1962 Happy Birthday dress. He was with designer Ray Aghayan from 1963 until Aghayan's death in 2011.
“I think I'm the oldest living designer in Hollywood”
What it means
Mackie treated a costume as a piece of storytelling, and the looks he built for Cher, Tina Turner and Elton John are still the images we picture when we think of them.
