Cher and Carol Burnett, two of Bob Mackie’s longest collaborators, are paying tribute to the legendary fashion designer after his death at age 87.
“My dear Bob has gone up to heaven,” Cher, 80, wrote via X on Monday, September 14, hours after Mackie’s death was confirmed. “Knowing him, he’s bringing sequins, beads & his sketch pad.”
The “Believe” singer added, “Good nite sweet Prince. Luv Me.”
Meanwhile, Burnett, 93, took to Instagram to share a throwback photo of herself with Mackie and wrote, “Sadness doesn’t come close to how I feel. I loved him very much.”
The former Carol Burnett Show host continued, “As for his genius, there are fashion designers who don’t do costumes, and there are costume designers who don’t do fashion. Bob did it all. There was no one like him.”
Mackie was responsible for dressing Hollywood’s biggest stars with his bold, glittery and theatrical creations, including Cher, Burnett, Diana Ross, Dolly Parton and Tina Turner. Some of his most famous designs included Cher’s naked dress at the 1974 Met Gala and the initial sketch for Marilyn Monroe’s “Happy Birthday, Mr. President” dress, which was later created by Jean Louis.
Mackie served as the primary costume designer for The Carol Burnett Show throughout its entire 11-season run from 1967 to 1978, crafting thousands of dazzling outfits for the host. One of his best-known creations for the show was the green velvet dress paired with a curtain rod for Burnett’s 1976 Gone with the Wind parody, “Went with the Wind.”
It was on the set of The Carol Burnett Show where Mackie first connected with Cher, as he recalled in a 2019 interview with Harper’s Bazaar.
“Boy, I like this girl, this is something,” he remembered thinking of the singer after she guest-starred on the sketch comedy show. “A couple years later we started working together again. I would dress her up and it was really fun. I got to know her really well.”
Recalling Cher’s iconic 1974 Met Gala look, Mackie called the naked dress trend “so silly.”
“People dressed up then, but not really dressed up like that. She walked in, and there I am standing next to her, and all of the sudden there were like a thousand photographers swarming us,” he told the outlet. “They followed her the entire evening.”
Mackie’s death was announced via a statement on his Instagram page on Monday. His rep later confirmed to People that the fashion icon died of pneumonia in Palm Springs, California.
“It is with a heavy heart that we share the news that Mr. Bob Mackie passed away today,” the statement 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.”
