Bob Mackie dies aged 87 as Cher and Elton John lead tributes to fashion legend
Bob Mackie has died aged 87. Cher and Elton John lead tributes to the legendary designer whose work became part of LGBTQ+ and drag culture.
Legendary fashion and costume designer Bob Mackie has died aged 87, prompting tributes to a man whose spectacular creations became inseparable from some of the biggest names in music, fashion and LGBTQ+ culture.
Mackie died in Palm Springs, California, following pneumonia, according to reports confirming his death.
Across a career spanning more than six decades, his unmistakable designs were worn by stars including Cher, Elton John, Diana Ross, Tina Turner and Bette Midler, helping create looks that became cultural moments in their own right.
His relationship with Cher produced some of his most famous work, including daring, heavily embellished outfits that challenged conventional ideas about how celebrities should dress. Mackie’s designs were glamorous, theatrical and unapologetically extravagant, an aesthetic that also made him an influential figure within drag and LGBTQ+ culture.
That connection continued across generations. Mackie received a lifetime achievement award connected with RuPaul’s Drag Race and affectionately described himself as the “patron saint of drag queens”, while his archive has continued to attract younger stars including Miley Cyrus, Zendaya and Sabrina Carpenter.
His extraordinary career brought nine Emmy Awards, three Academy Award nominations and a Tony Award for his costume design for the Broadway musical The Cher Show. Yet his influence reached far beyond awards, with Mackie’s work helping establish a visual language of glamour, camp and self-expression that continues to inspire performers and designers.
Cher and Elton John are among those paying tribute following news of his death, as the fashion world remembers a designer whose imagination refused to become quieter with age.
