An Evening With Bob Mackie
If a designer’s success is measured by the amount of laughter he has evoked through his work, then Bob Mackie has earned his legendary status. But laughter definitely comes second to the glamour and creative vision that Mackie has produced throughout his memorable career. From 1967 to 1977, he created the unforgettable and often hilarious costumes for the “Carol Burnett Show.” He was also responsible for Cher’s famous (and sometimes infamous) costumes on the “Sonny and Cher Show” and throughout her career. But that’s only a smidgen of what this multi-talented designer has contributed to the worlds of fashion and entertainment. On Jan. 17, buyers, industry executives and fashion students saw a retrospective of Mackie’s career and had a chance to speak with the designer himself.
The event—dubbed “Inside the Designers Studio”—was presented by the California Market Center and the Otis School of Art and Design. The crowd gathered in the CMC’s fashion theater for a one-hour, candid interview with Mackie, hosted by Rosemary Brantley, founding chair of the Otis fashion department.
Mackie, who now has ready-to-wear, home furnishings, accessories, fragrance and even collectible Barbies under his name, got his start—and his reputation— as a costume designer. His designs have been worn by such notable celebrities as Burnett, Cher, Juliet Prowse, Goldie Hawn, Mitzi Gaynor, Donnie and Marie Osmond, Ann-Margret, Diana Ross and Judy Garland.
The designer walked the audience through his life—starting all the way back from when he was a child growing up in Monterey Park, Calif., to when he was taking costume-design classes at Chouinard Art Institute (now California Institute of the Arts) to when he was hired by Paramount Studios costume designer Edith Head to when he eventually became the hottest young costume designer for top television variety shows in the mid-’60s and ’70s.
“A funny thing happened in the ’60s,” Mackie explained of his start. “Around 1964 or 1965, the Beatles arrived and fashion changed drasticallyhellip;. Everyone was brainwashed into thinking that if you weren’t young in show business, you didn’t know what you were doing. Well I happened to be young and had the right suit and right haircut, so I got all the jobs—I started getting all these terrific jobs. So that’s how I really got my start in television.”
But being young and good-looking wasn’t enough to warrant the designer’s staying power and credibility. It is his ability to combine beauty and glamour with humor that has made his work so memorable.
“If you’re going to do the ’Carol Burnett Show,’ you better be able to do funny,” he said. “I’m a stickler. I can do a gag outfit. But I also think that you can overdress comedy. You can’t just make funny clothes and make it work—unless it’s a gag moment and they’re supposed to walk out and get the laugh right that minute. I always think that if people look normal and they get a laugh, it’s much better.”
For years, Mackie’s hectic weekly schedules for the “Carol Burnett Show” and for Cher on the “Sonny and Cher Show” overlapped, earning him a well-deserved reputation for having a phenomenal work ethic.
“I always think, when one’s doing creative work, the more you do, the more you can do,” he said, respectfully crediting his “brilliant team of workers” for helping him create his iconic designs week after week.
The CMC hopes to continue the “Inside the Actor’s Studio” event with profiles of other notable designers. —Joselle Yokogawa
