While most of us retired our sequins as the clock struck midnight on New Year’s Eve, in the world of A-listers, the maxim for the new year is very much ‘start as you mean to go on’. Withlast week’s Golden Globes kicking off the months-long awards season, who better to turn to than the man who invented viral red carpet dressing? Mr Bob Mackie.
In days where the term ‘icon’ is thrown around like confetti, Mackie, 84, has earned the label as the man who has made costumes for every Hollywood superstar from Marilyn Monroe to Barbra Streisand, Judy Garland, Madonna, Elton John, Diana Ross and – of course – Cher. Now, his career spanning over six decades is immortalised in a new documentary, Bob Mackie: Naked Illusion, giving intimate insights into the dazzling world of the designer, from his family life to friendships with his long-term collaborators.
A costume designer by trade, Mackie’s work is just as relevant 60 years on as it was back then. Miley Cyrus wore vintage Mackie to perform at the 2024 Grammys, Sabrina Carpenter donned Madonna’s legendary 1991 Academy Awards gown for last year’s MTV Video Music Awards and The Last Showgirl, Gia Coppola’s much-anticipated film, set to hit cinemas next month, features Pamela Anderson wearing archival Mackie Las Vegas showgirl looks. Expect to see more of his all-that-jazz ensembles hit your algorithm over the next few weeks.
What’s the secret to the perennial appeal of a statement dress? ‘For a while, when Cher went off the TV [after The Sonny & Cher Show] and started doing films, the big looks weren’t so popular. But then all these kinds of big black tie events started happening and people would just call, wanting to wear the pieces again. I kept asking myself, “Why are they doing that?” But I loved it because, you know, it’s like, “OK, I’m still here.”’ he tells Grazia. ‘[My work] can be timeless and it can be wrong,’ he quips. ‘But those performers, they know who they are. Miley Cyrus was document amazing; she’s a Disney girl, as is Zendaya and Sabrina Carpenter. They’ve all been trained and they’re just really good. I love performers that were born to be on stage. It’s so impressive when you see them, they just have it all figured out already. And they’ve been waiting for that moment in time.’
As the mastermind behind some of fashion history’s most prolific looks (think Cher in sheer tulle at the 1974 Met Gala or in a mohawk and loin cloth at the Oscars), has he seen great change on the red carpets? ‘Very often [stars] would just wear the-lady-next- door evening gowns but when they look like Cher, you don’t want to dress them like the lady next door. You want them to look like stars,’ he says. ‘I watch [the red carpets] these days and sometimes they’re just horrendous. You look at them and go, “What made them think that looked good?” And then other times they just look amazing. It depends on the person and you have to think about your audience and what they expect those people to look like,’ he explains.
And what about naked dressing, a trend many a stylist resorts to in the hope of generating an internet-breaking moment? ‘Seeing more than you need to see is always a mistake.’ Has he ever made any mistakes? Cher’s If I Could Turn Back Time music video springs to mind. ‘I never had to talk her into any looks. But the time she sang with all the sailors on the big ship half-naked, I told her, “Don’t you dare tell anyone that I had anything to do with this. This is a terrible outfit.” Later, she finally admitted she agreed.’ It’s still iconic, though. ‘Well, it is,’ he smiles.
If the internet had been around then, Mackie would have been the first one to break it. Regardless, trolls existed then, too. Did it ever stop him? Of course not. ‘When Cher appeared on the scene, all the young girls wanted to look like her. It all changed... almost overnight. They started out as pop singers and, before you knew it, people would watch just to see what she was wearing.’
You’d reasonably expect a man responsible for such hype might have an air of arrogance. Instead, Mackie is charming, witty and speaks of his life as if he didn’t rewrite fashion history. ‘It’s emotional when you’re talking about your own life, your family, the children. But people react so beautifully to it. And I’m always amazed that they even care.’
‘Bob Mackie: Naked Illusion’ will stream on Prime Video from 10 January