Bob Mackie, the 'Sultan of Sequins' Behind Cher and Elton John, Dies at 87
Bob Mackie died at age 87 in Palm Springs.
The death was announced in a statement on his Instagram account on Monday. NPR reported the death on September 14, 2026, while AP identified Palm Springs as the place of death.
He was born Robert Gordon Mackie in Monterey Park, California, in 1939. He started his career as a sketch artist for designer Jean Louis, meaning he drew costume ideas before they were sewn. The job placed him close to major Hollywood productions early on. He sketched the dress Marilyn Monroe wore to sing "Happy Birthday Mr President" to John F. Kennedy in 1962, according to BBC.
Mackie became known as the "Sultan of Sequins." He won one Tony Award for theater, nine Emmy Awards for television, and received three Oscar nominations for film.
His clients included Cher, Tina Turner, Dolly Parton and Elton John. He also designed looks for Carol Burnett and for Diana Ross, according to Fox News. The clothes were cut for movement, bright cameras and large halls. They had to read clearly from the back row and in close-up, like a poster that also has to work as a book cover.
Two outfits became especially well known. He designed Cher's Mohawk outfit for the Oscars in 1986. He designed Elton John's Dodgers baseball outfit for his 1975 performances at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles. Both were built to be photographed.
The work continued well beyond that era. Miley Cyrus wore a dress designed by Mackie for her performance at the 2024 Grammy Awards. The timeline runs from Monroe in 1962 to Cyrus in 2024.
Mackie was in a relationship with fashion designer Ray Aghayan from 1963 until Aghayan's death in 2011. He told the story of his career in the coffee-table book "The Art of Bob Mackie," a large book built around photographs.
The broader context here is what that continuity says about costume design. A start drawing costumes in the early 1960s, steady work for variety shows and touring singers through the 1970s and 1980s, and a Grammy look in 2024 point to a practice that adjusted to new production systems without giving up handwork, decoration and fit. In my view, the Tony, nine Emmys and three Oscar nominations show respect from three different craft fields, and the long client list shows trust under pressure, since live TV and stage leave little room to fix a costume once the show starts.
