Bob Mackie- The Last of the Hands-on Designers?

Clip of Bob Mackie taking the stage for a Q & A on the Palm Springs Worldwide Movie Pageant’s displaying of the brand new documentary, Bob Mackie: Bare Phantasm (Video credit score: College of Style) 

On Saturday, January eleventh, I had the pleasure of collaborating in a Q & A with Bob Mackie on the Palm Springs Worldwide Movie Pageant’s displaying of the brand new documentary movie, Bob Mackie: Bare Phantasm. The movie delves into the extraordinary life and profession of the legendary designer, identified for his iconic costumes and contributions to the world of trend and leisure. The checklist of celebs that he has dressed vary from Marilyn Monroe to Mitzi Gaynor, Judy Garland, Barbara Streisand, Diana Ross, Tina Turner, Bette Midler, Carol Burnett, Bernadette Peters, Elton John, Pink, Miley Cyrus and naturally, his most well-known muse, Cher.

Scan this QR Code to see a trailer of Bob Mackie: Bare Phantasm (Picture credit score: Bob Mackie Instagram) 

The movie, Bob Mackie: Bare Phantasm is on the market for on-demand streaming on Amazon, Google, iTunes and Fandango. It affords a glimpse into Mackie’s artistic course of, that includes interviews with celebrities and insights into his most well-known designs. With vibrant visuals and a charming narrative, Bare Phantasm is a celebration of artistry and innovation. In actual fact there’s one half the place one in all Mackie’s seamstresses talks about how he’s so hands-on that he truly attracts his beadings motifs onto garment elements himself. Mackie calls himself a management freak however his seamstress says that he’s  perfectionist!

What number of of as we speak’s well-known designers are you able to title which can be truly as ‘hands-on’ as Bob Mackie?

Some Mackie Information

How previous was Mackie when he knew he needed to a a dressing up designer? Like many trend and costume designers, he was obsessed with trend at a really younger age. Seated in entrance of me on the Mackie Q & A was a lady who went to Rosemead Excessive Faculty in LA with him. She instructed the viewers how Mackie used to design the costumes for his or her college’s theatre productions.

Did Bob Mackie attend trend college? Sure, the Chouinard Artwork Institute in Los Angeles however left college early to take a job sketching for Paramount Studios.

Marilyn Monroe carrying the “Blissful Birthday Mr. President Gown” designed by Bob Mackie in 1962 (Picture credit score: NewAtlas.com)

Do you know that the Marilyn Monroe “Blissful Birthday Mr. President Gown”, worn on Might 19, 1962 to honor President John F. Kennedy’s birthday, was initially designed by Bob Mackie? At age 23, Mackie was employed by the main dressmaker of the time, Jean Louis. The gown had 2,500 crystal rhinestones and was so form-fitting that Monroe was sewn into it simply earlier than her efficiency. The fee to make the long-lasting gown in 1962 was $1,440.33 (equal to $11,111 in 2023) and in 2016, Ripley’s Imagine It or Not! acquired Monroe’s gown at a Julien’s Auctions occasion for $4.8 million.

Mackie’s “Curtain  Rod gown” for Carol Burnett (as Scarlet O’hara) in her 1976 spoof on the movie Gone With The Wind (Picture credit score: Pinterest)

Do you know the Mackie’s “Curtain Rod Gown” for Carol Burnett’s 1976 spoof on the long-lasting movie, Gone With The Wind” acquired the longest recorded chortle in TV historical past? And that the costume now resides within the assortment of the Nationwide Museum of American Historical past?

When requested who he wished he might have dressed? Audrey Hepburn, however she was already being dressed by Givenchy.

Do you know that Mackie’s varied accolades embrace his 9 Emmy Award wins, Tony Award wins and three Oscar nominations?

Do you know that  he has been featured in a number of exhibitions, together with:

Do you know that Bob Mackie has authored 5 books? The preferred being  My Three Lives: A Memoir and Dressing for Glamour?

Do you know that Mackie has created whole Barbie  doll collections? Some dolls going for $3, 799 on eBay.

For extra on his life and work, you MUST watch Bob Mackie: Bare Illusions. Get tons of popcorn prepared, it’s a two-hour movie.