Bob Mackie, the costume and fashion designer who dressed Cher, Carol Burnett, Diana Ross and generations of performers, died on Monday, September 14, 2026. He was 87. His death was announced in a statement on his official Instagram account, ABC News and The Zoe Report reported.
“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.” — statement shared on Mackie’s Instagram, via ABC News
The television years
Mackie’s career spanned more than six decades, and much of it was built on television. He was a costume designer on The Carol Burnett Show, which ran from 1967 to 1978. According to The National News Desk, that is where he met Cher. The partnership that followed is arguably one of the most productive designer-muse relationships in American popular culture. One of his best-known pieces is the curtain dress from the show’s Gone With the Wind parody, which, TheIndustry.fashion notes, is now in the Smithsonian’s permanent collection.
Mackie was nominated for 32 Emmy Awards and won nine, The National News Desk reports. The nine-win figure is also confirmed by The Zoe Report and TheIndustry.fashion.
Cher, the Oscars and illusion
Mackie became known as the “Sultan of Sequins” for his use of sequins, feathers and sheer fabrics, TheIndustry.fashion writes. His most famous image may be the one Cher wore to present at the 1986 Academy Awards: a black showgirl ensemble with a plumed Mohawk headdress, cited by both TheIndustry.fashion and The Zoe Report. It was theatrical and a little defiant, and arguably it changed expectations for the red carpet for good.
Beyond Cher, his clients and collaborators included Tina Turner, Barbra Streisand and Liza Minnelli, and later stars such as Zendaya and Sabrina Carpenter, according to The National News Desk. His career was also the subject of the 2024 documentary Bob Mackie: Naked Illusion.
Honors across stage and screen
- Three Academy Award nominations for costume design: Lady Sings the Blues, Funny Lady and Pennies From Heaven (The National News Desk).
- A Tony Award for Broadway’s The Cher Show, which The Zoe Report dates to 2019.
- The CFDA’s 2019 Geoffrey Beene Lifetime Achievement Award (TheIndustry.fashion).
- Induction into the Television Academy Hall of Fame (The Zoe Report; The National News Desk dates it to 2002).
The tributes
Burnett paid tribute, saying in part: “There was no one like him,” The National News Desk reported. TheIndustry.fashion recalls that when Mackie was asked in 2018 whether he would ever retire, he answered: “I hope not.”
A legacy in rhinestones
Mackie’s sensibility, which treated glamour as performance and saw excess as its own kind of craft, is visible today in stage costumes, drag, pop tours and the red carpet. In IOM’s view, he did not simply dress stars. He showed that American entertainment fashion could be ambitious, witty and technically brilliant all at once. It is hard to think of a sequin that doesn’t owe him something.
See all sources
- Bob Mackie, fashion designer to the stars, dies at 87, ABC News, 2026-09-14
- Legendary Designer Bob Mackie Dies At 87, The Zoe Report, 2026-09-14
- Bob Mackie, costume and fashion designer for the stars, dies at age 87, The National News Desk (Fox Baltimore), 2026-09-14
- Bob Mackie, costume designer behind Cher’s most iconic looks, dies aged 87, TheIndustry.fashion, 2026-09-15
Lead image: illustrative photo by Julia Morales on Unsplash.
