“A woman who wears my clothes is not afraid to be noticed.” Bob Mackie, 1939–2026

Most of his most famous clients only needed one name: Tina. Dolly. Diana. Zendaya. Marilyn. Miley. Beyonce. Barbie. Barbra. And, perhaps most famously, Cher. 

But Bob Mackie’s influence reached well beyond the big names of entertainment. His glittering, bedazzled and sometimes feathered creations showed up not just on the red carpet and at the awards show podiums…and in comedies that made people laugh, variety shows they sang along to, and the toys that children played with. Bob Mackie made Hollywood feel like home, in the best possible way, Obviously there are plenty of queer men in the fashion industry, but Mackie’s sensibility was particularly flamboyant and joyous. I think that joy is why he fit in so beautifully in American homes, whether it was during the 11 years he costumed Carol Burnett for her titular show, or the approximately one thousand times my dad watched Cher’s “If I Could Turn Back Time” video.

Cher might have been nearly naked, but she was still dressed, and there was a sense of play in many of Mackie’s best designs that made them engaging and just plain fun. (Elton John’s Donald Duck and bedazzled Dodgers uniform come to mind.) Valentino could have haute couture; Mackie was for everyone. Or at least for everyone bold enough to throw on a few pounds of sequins. (“It takes a lot of money to look this cheap,” Dolly once said. I can’t remember if she said it about a Mackie outfit or not, but the point stands.)

You may have held some of Mackie’s work in your own hands: his close-mouthed face sculpt didn’t just appear on collectible dolls, but in ‘playline’ dolls that ordinary kids had fun with. He pushed for more diversity in the dolls, and created incredible fantasy wardrobes for her. And Mackie seemed quite proud of his Barbie work: she’s even featured on his website. “Why is an old man like me interested in doing Barbies?” he told Out magazine. “I just thought she didn’t have to be a secretary, waitress, or housewife. If she could be anything, she could be the most amazing creature.” In Mackie’s designs, she was.

During his long career, Mackie earned ten Emmys, a Tony Award, the Costume Council’s Designer of Excellence Award. and a Lifetime Achievement Award from RuPaul’s Drag Race. More than four years ago, our own E. Rose Nelson honored Bob Mackie for Celebrating the Living. “Beautifully, he still appears to be working, too. He’s 83 and is doing what he loves.” He seems to have managed to keep working right through this year, and posted a lovely tribute to Dolly Parton when she passed away last month. You can buy a Mackie barbie on Mattel’s website right now.

Notably, there aren’t many people with bad things to say about Mackie. He seems to have been an enthusiastic and generous collaborator, and he worked hard to make the people he dressed look and feel good. More often than not, he knocked that goal straight out of the park.