Very sad news - the most glittering of all costume designers, beloved of "our kind of Diva" for generations, Mr Bob Mackie has departed for Fabulon - where, no doubt all the dearly departed doyennes of showbiz will be mobbing him for bugle beads and shimmy frocks for eternity...
He certainly led a charmed life - an outrageously camp man, he made his fortune designing outrageously camp frocks for a pantheon of divas, as well as for numerous Vegas burlesque extravaganzas, and even Carol Burnett's TV show (which was a huge hit in America but never made a dent here in the UK).
His client list reads like a roll-call of Patron Saints here at Dolores Delargo Towers: Judy Garland, Diana Ross, Liza Minnelli, Tina Turner, Shirley MacLaine, Mitzi Gaynor, Celia Cruz, Ann-Margret, Agnes Moorehead, Carol Channing, Bette Midler, Barbra Streisand, Chita Rivera, Joan Collins, and many, many more.
Of course, his most enduring - and possibly most outré - of all professional relationships was with Cher. A marriage made in heaven!
"If a woman is going to do an hour and a half onstage, and she’s just in a little black dress, she’d better be Judy Garland. You’re there to see her, you’re not just listening. So there needs to be something visual. At the same time, if you don’t make them look good, you’ve defeated the purpose of putting something on them. It’s all about making them look thinner and taller and fabulous. "
“We live in a jeans and T-shirt world but we all want to live in a palace ... We're not trying to attract the masses here. We're looking for a special person who's looking for something special.”
"I've been called the Sultan of Sequins, the Rajah of Rhinestones and the King of Glitz. I probably have more titles than any other designer."
RIP, Robert Gordon "Bob" Mackie (24th March 1939 – 14th September 2026)
