Bob Mackie loves strippers - but not in the way you might think. Tasked with ‘designing strippers’ by the great late costume designer Edith Head, who received a record-breaking 35 Academy Award nominations for her work in Hollywood, the California native headed downtown to the burlesque house. Inside, he was captivated by the formidable presence of Tempest Storm - the legendary burlesque icon known to the world as the 'Queen of Exotic Dancers.' Fast forward six decades and the glitz of stripper style - sequins, embellishments, sheer panels and fringed fabrics - have become a Bob Mackie signature, sported by industry icons like Cher, Tina Turner, Beyoncé, Diana Ross and Madonna.
I’m perched next to the 85-year-old designer in the wine cellar of The Stafford Hotel. Low-lit and low-ceilinged, the space is temporarily home to some of Mackie’s most coveted gowns, from Tina Turner’s firebird dress to Ann-Margaret’s one-shouldered bejewelled gown worn by Sabrina Carpenter back in October. Both of which are highlights of Julien’s Auctions’ upcoming sale ‘Bold Luxury: Bob Mackie, Stage Glamour & The Couture Edit.’
Framed by his original sketches, the charming creative reels off anecdote after anecdote - a journalist’s dream. His life is straight out of a film. As a student in the early Sixties, Mackie crafted pieces for Jayne Mansfield - measuring up the Hollywood heavyweight on the patio of his arts school in front of his peers. He subsequently quit his college scholarship for a job sketching at Paramount Studios, learning the ropes from some of the best costume designers in the business.
© Getty Images“If you want to do something bad enough, you’ll find a way,” Mackie says, reflecting on his early career. “You have to want it and figure out ways of getting it.” And get it he did. Crafting the original sketch of Marilyn Monroe’s dress, worn in 1962 at President John F. Kennedy's birthday celebration, was one of his first assignments.
“You have to think about when they walk on stage,” he adds. “There’s already been an exposure of their personality on stage, before they even walk on. You have to really understand performance if you're designing costumes.”
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© Julien's AuctionsThis philosophy hasn’t changed - no matter who he designs for. While his name is often associated with the stars of late 20th century Hollywood, Mackie’s magic lives on. A-listers including Zendaya and Miley Cyrus have both delved into the designer’s sequin-clad archives - paying testament to the evergreen flair of his work.
Why does he think that archival is so desirable today? “I was trying to figure that out. All of a sudden, many of these little darlings, like the Disney children who can dance, sing and act, the minute they hit their teens, they want to be sexy. They want to be fabulous. They want to be a movie star. Very often they only need a couple of good hits on an award show, and they are ready to go.”
© Getty ImagesI suggest that his clothing represents the moment a woman steps into her womanhood, using Miley Cyrus as an example: “Miley Cyrus knows exactly who she is, how she performs. She has that sexy low voice - but you know, she's a Disney girl. As children, they are trained out of their minds. They know lighting, they know choreography, they know what clothes they would like to wear. She was a little tiny girl, adorable, and she grew up in a theatrical family. Miley Cyrus didn't look like that when she became Hannah Montana.”
He touches upon his reputation as a designer for ‘The Showgirl’: “We've had this big thing about ‘showgirl’ looks - that kind of threw me. I didn't think that I was doing that. But [stars] are borrowing from stores that have bought these really interesting pieces from celebrities who came before them. They have moved on, yet suddenly they see their looks back on the stage and they can’t help but wish they still owned them.”
© Getty ImagesHis latest ‘showgirl’ was none other than Taylor Swift, who graced the cover of her latest The Life Of A Showgirl (very on-brand) in one of his archival looks. “I didn't expect that at all,” with a genuine look of surprise. “But then I started thinking, she was spending a lot of time with Beyoncé, and Beyoncé wasn't holding back on showing it all.”
Queen B was another of Mackie’s clients. She approached the designer wanting to emulate one of Tina Turner’s iconic flame gowns by Mackie for a tribute show: “It showed everything you wanted to show and covered everything you needed to cover. She was amazing in it - the perfect person to do a Tina Turner moment on one of those big music shows.”
© Getty ImagesHaving designed for (literal) movers and shakers like the aforementioned, how does the designer infuse dynamism and fluidity into pieces built for dance? “Just watch. Tune into the performer and you’ll see every little thing they do. You try to help them along. Say if they are in a straight play, you see how they sit, how they walk and how they do the love scene. You know what you have to involve - and you make the audience say ‘Oh yeah, that’s her. That’s the girl that I came to see.’”
Yet, it’s not always about the girls with Mackie. Alongside the dresses he crafted for Cher (fun fact - she is only 5’6) and Miss Tina Turner (“The legs!”) The designer was also responsible for Elton John’s bedazzled LA Lakers uniform.
“We did a special with Bette Midler and Cher, and Elton John was all dressed up and he liked the way he looked. He said ‘I liked what I wore and I loved the way you dressed Cher - can you do anything for me like that?’ I’m thinking to myself ‘well, he’s not a drag queen, what am I supposed to do here?’ I did sketches of fun things for him to wear and said to him that he could be a new-age Liberace. He went ‘Oh, okay!” and we did everything. We did cartoon characters - Minnie Mouse and Donald Duck. You name it, we did it all. He loved it, he had such a good time. He loved the attention he got.”
Elton’s glistening Lakers uniform was once again thrust into the spotlight back in 2018, when Harry Styles donned the look for a Beverly Hills Halloween party. The outfit went viral, yet the singer opted to recreate the ensemble rather than pluck directly from the archives.
© @bobmackieAfter all, not everyone can request an archival Bob Mackie look. “I don’t always go for it when they ask. But if I think they are extra special, I say to give them a try. We always try to fit the things we loan out - make sure it looks good on them. You could pick the best dress and the most gorgeous woman, but if it doesn’t work - forget it.”
Considering the fact that interest in archival Bob Mackie pieces doesn’t seem to be slowing down anytime soon, it comes as little surprise that the designer doesn’t take time off. If he can, he’ll go to the movies - the very same activity he loved as a child that inspired his epic career.
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© Getty ImagesWhat’s next? He’s heading home to Hollywood to part with some of his archival pieces - the birthplace of his visionary genius. Yet his influence endures, because the magic of a Bob Mackie gown lies in its ability to be endlessly reinvigorated, carrying the storied history of those who wore it before. That is the power - and the legend - of Mr Bob Mackie.
