Bob Mackie, fashion designer for the stars, dies at 87

Known as the Sultan of sequins, the Raza of rhinestones or the guru of glitter, Bob Mackie dressed generations of stars, bringing glitz and glamour to Hollywood for over half a century. You don't try to change anybody. You just try to make them look better than ever. From LA, Mackie started off working for costume designer Jean-Louis. It was there that he dreamt up the dress Marilyn Monroe wore to sing Happy Birthday to JFK. Mackie made a name for himself after Carol Burnett chose him to design costumes for her variety show in 1967. And he later became the go-to designer for larger-than-life stars like Dolly Parton. Some of his most iconic looks came from his collaborations with Cher. And she came into the first fitting and I went, oh, look at her. She's so adorable. She was, she looked like Audrey Hepburn's little sister at that point in time. She was a young girl. But she never, never once was she intimidated by anything. Mackie attended the 1974 Met Gala with Cher on his arm, dressed in an outfit that even made the cover of Time magazine. He was also a long-time favourite in the drag and LGBTQ community, dressing RuPaul and inspiring generations of performers who borrowed his over-the-top glamour. In 1990, Mattel also brought him in to design Barbie, and he ended up creating dozens of limited-edition dolls over more than three decades. His archival pieces are still worn today, proof that decades on, Bob Mackie's idea of glamour never went out of style.