Gay fashion designer Bob Mackie has died. He was 87.
The legendary fashion and costume designer, famous for dressing people like Cher, Elton John, Diana Ross, and Tina Turner, has passed away, according to a statement released on his social media accounts.
“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.”
The 2025 Out100 honoree has shaped the cultural zeitgeist for more than six decades. A young Mackie drew the initial sketch for Marilyn Monroe’s “Happy Birthday Mr. President” dress when he was working for designer Jean Louis, and went on to dress Elton John in that memorable Donald Duck costume, complete with webbed feet.
His most enduring relationship might have been with gay icon Cher, designing her most iconic looks, including her costumes for The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour and the dramatic sequined dress with feather Mohawk headdress that she wore to the 1986 Oscars.
But Mackie’s cultural influence isn’t a thing of the past. He also designed the dress worn by Miley Cyrus when she won her first Grammy in 2024 and performed “Flowers” during the ceremony; he has dressed Zendaya; and Mackie was dubbed the “patron saint of drag queens,” showing up as a frequent reference point on RuPaul’s Drag Race over the years. “We’re all born naked, and the rest is Bob Mackie,” RuPaul once said.
Mackie was interviewed by Out last year in promotion of his documentary Bob Mackie: Naked Illusion. He revealed that beaming fashion into living rooms across the country through his work with Cher and The Carol Burnett Show, where he worked for 11 years, was a major motivator in his career. “That’s the reason I did it, you know, it gives them something,” he says. “You see performers look one way, and then you see them look another. It’s part of the entertainment, really.”
“I never think of myself as being in fashion; I’m a costume designer in show business, which isn’t the same. A costume designer really contributes to the storytelling” of a production, he added.
To LGBTQ+ people tackling turbulent times, he also offered some advice: “Just be honest with yourself. Do what you do best. Try to work your life so that it works for you in the best possible way. Sometimes there are ways that just aren’t the best; try to think about that too.”
