Bob Mackie on designing for Cher, Carol Burnett, Diana Ross and Barbie

Bob Mackie is one of the most famous and fabulous fashion designers of all time, responsible for everything from the costumes to the costumes The Carol Burnett Show to Cher’s most famous looks. A new documentary, Bob Mackie: Naked Illusiondelves into the life and career of Mackie, taking a look at some of his most famous designs and speaking to the people who wore them.

In an interview with Good morning AmericaMackie spoke about the documentary and discussed one of his most iconic designs, worn by Carol Burnett The Carol Burnett Show. Fans may remember Burnett’s classic Gone with the wind “Went With the Wind” parody sketch as she came down the stairs in an outfit that looked like she was wrapped in curtains, a hilarious reversal of Scarlett O’Hara’s famous dress made from green curtains. Mackie admitted that he created the look the night before the episode began filming and hoped it would be fun! He added that it was “so great for me to do this show!” He worked with Burnett on her show for 11 years and with Cher around the same time The Sonny and Cher Show.

Let’s take a look back at some of his most memorable looks and what inspired them!

Carol Burnett

Everett Collection

Mackie created up to 70 costumes each week for Burnett and her show’s cast and guests. Mackie said of the famous curtain dress, “Every time you have a good laugh, you’re happy. It may be the worst joke in the world, but when you laugh, you’re happy.” The curtain dress is now part of the Smithsonian’s permanent collection Museum of American History.

Cher

Harry Langdon/Getty Images

Mackie first met Cher when she was a guest The Carol Burnett Show. Cher then began recruiting Mackie for outfits for special occasions and then asked him to design the wardrobe for them The Sonny and Cher Show.

Getty Images

Mackie recalls that Cher came up with the idea for the above outfit for the 1986 Academy Awards, a year after her film mask was released. According to Mackie in 2021 diversity Interview:

“A lot of people probably didn’t see it mask and many of them thought she was a singer who couldn’t act. They didn’t even watch the movie and didn’t know how Hollywood worked, and that upset them a little bit, I’m sure. I asked her, “What would you like to wear?” and she said, “I’ve done these movies where I play the hard-working blue collar guy, and I’d like to be in something they’ve seen me in before, like in my TV show. “I’m thinking maybe a Native American-inspired costume.”

“So I went away and started drawing. She said, “What if we did this and that?” and I told her she was giving someone an award and she couldn’t take the attention away from him. She just said, ‘Oh, they won’t care, they’ll like it.’ She was right – it was in every newspaper the next day.”

Photo by Darlene Hammond/Getty Images

Mackie, who also dressed Cher in the shimmering dress above, has become synonymous with Cher’s personal style. He continues to design her outfits for her live tours.

Barbie

Photo by Gabe Ginsberg/Getty Images for Barbie: An Exhibition of Cultural Icons

In addition to dressing many leading ladies, Mackie also dressed Mattel’s Barbie, creating more than 40 Barbies clad in his signature bejeweled creations. When the first Barbie ever came onto the market in 1959, Mackie was a fashion student; he “didn’t think (the doll) was very fashionable,” Mackie said in an interview in 2023. Mackie is credited with taking the doll in a high fashion direction: “I was a real costume designer. And I didn’t feel like making her look like an accountant or a flight attendant. This is more fantasy oriented. She could be anything we wanted her to be.”

Jim Spellman/WireImage/Getty Images

Mackie worked with Ross early in her career and she was so impressed that she insisted he help her after she was offered some standard costumes (rather than tailored outfits) for her role in the 1972 Billie Holiday biopic Lady sings the blues. Mackie joked, “The diva doesn’t do that!” Mackie was nominated for an Oscar for Best Costume Design.

Which dress is your favorite?