Mackie’s death was announced Monday through his official social media accounts. A representative later confirmed that he died of pneumonia in Palm Springs, California.

For more than five decades, Mackie brought elaborate costumes, theatrical silhouettes and elaborate embellishment to television, film, theater and live performance. His clients included Cher, Carol Burnett, Diana Ross, Tina Turner, Elton John, Dolly Parton, Liza Minnelli and other major performers.

His partnership with Cher became particularly enduring. Mackie designed many of her most recognizable stage and television looks, including the dramatic black ensemble and feathered headdress she wore while presenting at the 1986 Academy Awards and the revealing costume associated with her 1989 “If I Could Turn Back Time” video.

A career built around performance

Mackie established himself in television during the 1960s and became closely associated with The Carol Burnett Show, designing costumes throughout the program’s 11-year run. The Television Academy credits him with 32 Emmy nominations and nine wins and notes that he was inducted into its Hall of Fame in 2002.

His work extended well beyond television. Mackie and collaborators received an Academy Award nomination for costume design for Lady Sings the Blues, the 1972 film starring Diana Ross as Billie Holiday. He was also nominated for Funny Lady.

In 2019, he won the Tony Award for Best Costume Design of a Musical for The Cher Show, a Broadway production based on Cher’s life and career.

Mackie’s designs were often inseparable from the performers who wore them. He treated costumes as part of a stage persona rather than simply as clothing, using feathers, sequins, rhinestones, metallic fabrics and exaggerated shapes to amplify the spectacle of live entertainment.

Some of his most famous work was deliberately provocative. Cher’s outfits frequently challenged conventional ideas about how a major female performer was expected to appear on television and at awards ceremonies.

From Marilyn Monroe to Cher

Mackie’s career also included an early connection to one of Hollywood’s most famous images.

While working as an assistant to designer Jean Louis, he helped sketch the dress Marilyn Monroe wore when she sang “Happy Birthday” to President John F. Kennedy in 1962.

That early experience was followed by decades of original work for entertainers across television, film and music.

Mackie also designed the costumes for The Cher Show, extending a professional relationship with Cher that had begun decades earlier. The Television Academy records Mackie’s Emmy-winning work on several Cher productions, including Cher: Live in Concert – From the MGM Grand in Las Vegas in 2000 and her farewell tour in 2003.

His influence eventually reached beyond the stars for whom he designed directly. Mackie created fashion collections, worked with Barbie and developed other commercial projects while maintaining his connection to entertainment design.

In later years, his work continued to be referenced and worn by younger performers, underscoring the durability of a visual language that had emerged from television variety shows and concert stages decades earlier.

Mackie’s death closes a career that connected Hollywood’s classic television era with contemporary popular culture.

His costumes remain part of the visual history of performers who used fashion not simply to complement a performance, but to make the performer themselves part of the spectacle.

Reporting Credit: Bob Mackie’s official representatives and social media account — announcement of his death; Television Academy — career, Emmy record and Hall of Fame information; American Theatre Wing/Tony Awards — 2019 Tony Award for The Cher Show; Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences — Oscar nominations and film costume credits.

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Apple TV’s “Palm Royale” returns with Season 2, blending high-style 1960s- and 1970s-inspired fashion with comedic storytelling. Emmy-winning costume designer Alix Friedberg coordinated vintage and custom-made pieces to reflect character growth, social status, and feminist themes.

Crafting Characters Through Clothing

Vintage Designs and Modern Storytelling

The series follows Kristen Wiig’s character, Maxine, navigating Palm Beach high society in 1969. From the opening scene, Wiig wears a yellow fringed hat, gold platform sandals, and bell-bottom pants adorned with fabric petals, signaling the centrality of costume to storytelling.

Season 2 features a mix of original vintage designer garments and newly constructed outfits. Friedberg says roughly half of the season’s brightly colored, graphic prints were sourced from designer archives, supporting the characters’ jet-setting personas.

Kaia Gerber, portraying Mitzi, called the iconic costumes emotionally impactful. “Sometimes Kristen will walk in wearing something, and it brings tears to my eyes,” Gerber told the Associated Press.

The Creative Process Behind the Costumes

Sourcing and Building Iconic Looks

Friedberg’s team works beyond shopping, constructing duplicates when necessary to maintain continuity during multiple scene appearances or dance numbers. The team sourced vintage pieces in exceptional condition, including Oscar de la Renta, Bill Blass, Oleg Cassini, and Halston.

Allison Janney praised Friedberg’s work as “brilliant,” noting that the hair, makeup, and costumes combine to create fully realized characters. Iconic après-ski looks, particularly for Swiss Alps scenes, were among her favorites, though she admitted choosing a single favorite was difficult.

Humor Through Wardrobe

Costumes as Comedic Devices

Costume choices also accentuate comedic moments. Friedberg highlighted Evelyn’s deadpan delivery paired with extravagant outfits, including sequences requiring multiple wigs, generating humor through visual absurdity.

Carol Burnett described costume fittings as integral to shaping her character, Norma, the scheming socialite. The signature turban emerged as a practical solution that evolved into a defining element of her look, guiding the design of dresses and accessories around it.

Fashion as Feminist Expression

Empowerment Through Style

Season 2 emphasizes female empowerment through wardrobe choices. Pantsuits and tailored ensembles reflect autonomy and social progress. Leslie Bibb’s character, Dinah, transitions from trophy wife to independent figure, inspired by icons like Sharon Stone in “Casino.” The shift into pantsuits signals her evolving identity and agency.

Costume design also illustrates male characters’ reliance on women for style. Josh Lucas’s character, Douglas, appears increasingly disheveled this season, wearing only worn Hawaiian shirts as a visual representation of diminished personal control.

Symbolism and Character Arcs

Visual Storytelling Through Clothing

Gerber’s character, Mitzi, undergoes a transformation in Season 2, with costumes reflecting newfound wealth and self-assertion. Friedberg described Maxine’s Oscar de la Renta dress as a statement piece: a visual cue of her arrival and social ascension without dialogue.

Each wardrobe choice reinforces character motivations and narrative themes, merging humor, style, and empowerment. Costume design in “Palm Royale” demonstrates how fashion can serve both aesthetic and narrative functions, providing audiences with a richer, multi-layered viewing experience.

Source: AP News – How the funny and feminist fashion in ‘Palm Royale’ further the storytelling

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When Ryan Murphy shared a first glimpse of his upcoming biopic American Love Story, he probably expected buzz. But what he got was backlash—from a very stylish and very vocal corner of the internet.

Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy fans weren’t just displeased. They were devastated.

The late fashion icon’s signature look—elegant, minimalist, seemingly effortless—was, according to critics, completely missed. From the “wrong” shade of blonde hair to a stiff-looking camel coat and an oddly lifeless Birkin bag, everything felt off.

“This is a fashion travesty,” one user wrote on Murphy’s Instagram post teasing the new series. Others called the fabrics “shoddy” and the drape “all wrong.” Some lamented that “Carolyn would never put these looks together.”

Even her original colorist, Brad Johns, weighed in. Speaking to Vogue, he said the hair shade chosen for actress Sarah Pidgeon (who plays Bessette-Kennedy) was far from accurate. “No one would believe that Carolyn in the ’90s would ever have that color from me. It’s too 2024,” he said. “When she sees that color, she’s going to be swirling in heaven.”

So why does this matter so much to so many people?

Why the Reaction Feels So Personal

At first glance, the internet’s intense reaction to a few promo photos from a biopic might seem overblown. But Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy wasn’t just another celebrity with good style—she was a woman whose wardrobe told a story, every day.

Her rise from Calvin Klein’s PR department to American royalty as John F. Kennedy Jr.’s wife captivated the public. But her impact ran deeper than who she married. Bessette-Kennedy had a kind of self-assured grace that made even the simplest outfit iconic. Clean lines, muted tones, unassuming silhouettes—she was minimalism personified.

“She wasn’t of this earth,” designer Gabriela Hearst once said. And fashion fans agree. In fact, in 2024, Sotheby’s auctioned off a small collection of her clothes—from designers like Prada and Yohji Yamamoto—for a stunning $177,600. Her influence hasn’t faded in the 25 years since her tragic death. If anything, it’s only grown.

So it’s no surprise that Murphy’s portrayal is under a microscope.

The Stakes Are Higher in the Age of the Biopic

Biopics are booming. Over 20 hit screens in 2023 alone, with at least 10 more in the pipeline. And with each one, audience expectations grow. Gone are the days when a general resemblance and a good script were enough. Now, it’s all about total transformation.

Gary Oldman famously spent over 200 hours in hair and makeup to become Winston Churchill. Lily James wore a fake forehead and dentures to channel Pamela Anderson. Marisa Abela wore Amy Winehouse’s actual cardigan for Back to Black. And in a film about Bob Dylan, designers worked with Levi’s to recreate his exact 1960s jeans cut.

When it comes to fashion icons, the clothes are the character. And in Bessette-Kennedy’s case, they’re sacred. Her wardrobe wasn’t an accessory to her persona—it was central to how she was perceived and remembered.

As one stylist put it in response to Murphy’s teaser: “The wardrobe is a main character in this story. This breaks my heart.”

Carolyn’s Legacy Is Still Unfolding

Only two actresses have ever portrayed Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy on screen—Portia de Rossi in 2003 and Erica Cox in 2017—and both performances flew largely under the radar. Murphy’s American Love Story, which is set to stream on Hulu in 2026, is poised to be the most mainstream depiction yet.

But that means the pressure is on. Especially now, when new books, Instagram accounts, and viral TikToks dedicated to her look have turned Bessette-Kennedy into a modern-day fashion muse for a new generation. She’s not just admired—she’s studied.

That obsessive interest brings rewards, but also risks. More fans mean more scrutiny. And in a culture that’s never been more tuned in to the details, getting them wrong can feel like a betrayal.

More Than a Look—It Was Who She Was

Ultimately, the uproar over a coat, a bag, or a hair color isn’t just about aesthetics. It’s about preserving the essence of a woman who defined a particular kind of modern American elegance. A woman who made millions feel that style didn’t have to shout to be powerful.

For her admirers, to misrepresent Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy on screen is more than just a costume misstep—it’s a failure to honor someone who, through fashion, made minimalism feel deeply personal.

And that’s a legacy fans aren’t willing to see lost in translation.

Source: CNN – Look of the Week: Carolyn Bessette Kennedy and the heightened stakes of costume design

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