Beautifully. Strimple: You know one of my most joyous moments was when the CFDA wanted to give Bob an award and he didnt fit in any category that they had, so they created an award for him, its called the exuberance award, and it sums up everything Mackie, because hes an original. You can make the best designs in the world on a piece of paper, but if they arent made beautifully and they dont fit right, it just doesnt workespecially when clothes as clothes are as goofy as some of the ones Ive done like for Cher. Wonderful pieces that look gorgeous in the hand as well as on the body. Were like two mischievous kids getting into trouble. They wanted to give me something but they didnt know what to do with me, so they gave me an award for fashion exuberance, which I still think is funny. When you realize how many costumes Bob did each week for. As a costume designer, he influenced fashion dramatically. and it goes deep. He was just playing in a new sandbox. For a long time, and Im sure [its still true today]everyone thought that all I know how to do are Cher dressesyou know, with her tummy out and showing half of her whatever. Hours: Monday: Closed. I went into the costume and Bob said, You know, weve been doing a lot of old ladies lately, lets make her different. So he turned her into this bimbo with the blond wig, and the push-up bra, and the real tight black skirt, and the high heels stilettos. She doesnt look like all the blonde girls with the beehive hairdos and the flips that are out here now. You always associate his name with glamour, although his sense of humor and, of course, the comedy are beyond. Add to List Opens a popup. I always just sort of pray in my life somebody will give me a nice 19th-century movie or a good 1930s Depression film [to do]. There were characters (usually on the gay side), and they had the best, the funniest lines. I think there were times where Bob would have liked Cher to be a little more demure, and she would just look at him and go, Nope, were going big here. 80s, and in my case, become part of my hard drive of references. I loved every minute working with him; the work was brilliant, and the workmanship impeccable. We had worked with Elizabeth on the Judy Garland show and she made the most beautiful clothes for Judy, and Judy didnt have the easiest figure to deal with, [she was] 4 foot 11 inches and quite short-waisted; it just wasnt an easy body to throw clothes on. Bob was a sketch artist and Ray needed a sketch artist, so Bob drew for Ray, and then eventually I think Bob said, Listen, Im doing 50 percent of this work, I would like to share some credit with you. And so they did. And its not just about sequins and the bugle beads for the sake of the sequins and bugle beads; its that they create this sort of shimmering moving work of art that really literally and figuratively reflects light. People would die. Everyone has a dream, but I have to say that your dreams cannot work without education, says Tina. JEAN LOUIS She and I were having a conversation backstage and Juliet said what she loved about Bobs clothes were [their inner structure]. And I remember, I put the skirt onit was an old skirt he had in his costume placeand it was black wool and it was very tight at the knees, but it bagged in the behind. Posted on 26 Feb in delores winans grandchildren. It is an honor for the Tennessee State Museum to receive this gift from Tina Turner for our museums collection, says Tennessee State Museum Executive Director Ashley Howell. Whose idea was that? Were going to laugh together. Time and time again he returned to work; it was his salve. Youd think hed be on a grand scale of a European designer, Oh, darling, I can only come here and I can only do this. The items Tina selected were donned in a photoshoot for her six-time platinum Foreign Affair album with the images above captured by Herb Ritts in 1989. Strimple: Well you know, hes the perennial boy. . [3] [4] His father worked at Bank of America. Certainly Bob has very high standards for how the finished product needs to look. Mackie doesnt scare meyou know I can handle a little bit of extra fabric. I think he loves how his work and his creativity has given the world a little bit of joy, a little more color. . Bob and I are both perfectionists when it comes to fit. Were never satisfied until every inch is perfect. [What was] most important to me was to make sure that Bobs joy, his humor, his childishness, childlikeness, came off onstage. I havent even heard that word in 40 years. I am incredibly happy to have had the chance to meet him at the Met. The CFDA gave me an award quite a few years ago, actually. RuPaul: I cant say enough good things about Bob Mackie. Variations 1; Variations 2; Features. Flody Suarez, lead producer, The Cher Show: One of the things that I found so fascinating was that Bob was Edith Heads assistant when he first started in the business. . After his parents divorced, the 6-year-old Nobody else does it quite like him, where hell layer things and then add to them and then manipulate them in certain ways. . He really was the first to do those sexy red carpet dresses, and everybody who is designing clothes for the red carpet really owes him a debt of gratitude. Irene Sharaff became my favorite, my idol. Evening dress. On this same site in 1850, a large slaughterhouse and meat-packing facility was constructed to serve northwestern Kentucky and nearby Cincinnati, Ohio. When I got famous, the first phone call I made was to Bob Mackie, because I grew up watching, show and I knew that the mark of a superstar was to have Bob Mackie costumes. I have this horrible kind of fear of retiring and not doing anything because I would be so unhappy, and, when youre like that, I think you die earlyyou just have no hope about anything. There were times when I didnt know how I was going to do a character until I went to the costume fitting and put on what Bob had in mind. Biographies will date the California-born costumers debut in the entertainment business to 1961, but Mackies fate was sealed much, much earlierat the movies. I want to wear something really fun. I had done several outfits for her over the years, some of them were bare midriff and whatever. Suarez: Bob was kind of a household name during The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour, and Im not even sure how that happened because I dont think any TV designer has ever crossed over in that way to become part of pop culture the way he [did]. So he designed the costumes for my first Las Vegas [revue]. He is good looking, elegant and has a charming voice. She doesnt look like all the blonde girls with the beehive hairdos and the flips that are out here now. . When I first started doing Cher, these starlets were coming out of the woodwork. . Mackie: This last year it had been 50 years since The Carol Burnett Show came on the air. He seems more like a friend. Fern Mallis, industry consultant: The curtain dress is the first thing that comes to mind always, [when you think of Bob]. Inside, visitors can learn about the history of cotton, explore the scenic and wild Hatchie River and get to know the legendary musicians who call West Tennessee home. They cant start moving around in the wrong places, you know what I mean? Mackie: The CFDA gave me an award quite a few years ago, actually. Crutcher: I think if you had asked me what kind of a person Bob Mackie would be before I met him, I would never have really guessed that he would be as funny as he is, and just asdown-to-earth is such an overused expression but I guess he kind of is. . I think thats how Bob looks at things, that if you just stand something on its head, its not so shocking anymore. I believe Ray and Bob met at a Costume Designers Guild meeting out in Los Angeles. Some may say [his work is] objectifying women, but when you have women like Cher, Tina [Turner], and Carol [Burnett], their talents are so gigantic that they deserve to be objectified! And then all these people, the Kim Kardashians of the world, start copying her. I am incredibly happy to have had the chance to meet him at the Met. He was offered movieshe was offered The Great Gatsby. Bob Mackies work has influenced fashion in a dramatic way, in that many of the body-fitting, seemingly transparent, and heavily beaded gowns that are worn on red carpets today are derivative of his work for stars like Diana Ross and Cher. Burnett: I dont think there is anyone in the history of costume design who could do what Bob did, and continues to do. Everybody has a different idea [of] what constitutes camp. I much preferred working for Edith Head [than Jean Louis] because she gave me full rein. and the fact that each one of those costumes had to be built so the [actors] could get in and out of them in under a minute and still look stylish . He thinks about how things are going to be made as hes sketching, so the function of it becomes part of the form. and it goes deep. He has made thousands of brilliant costumes in his day and should have a show of his own at The Met. Maybe people felt if they were going to wear Bob Mackie, they wanted something sexy and fabulous, not day clothes. His designs have been worn by Tina, Madonna, Janet Jackson, Sarah-Jessica Parker, and Kylie Minogue among many others. the Metropolitan Museum is displaying one . Jan Strimple, Mackie muse, model turned show producer: I recall the headlines in Womens Wear were something like, Hollywood Boy comes to Seventh Avenue. You know, snoot, snoot. I was just lucky; I mean I really never changed in what I. I can honestly say that he appreciates it when people appreciate what he does, but it has always been about the work. By the way, thats a character she plays. Juliet, Tennessee, and in that episode I get to pull out some of my old Bob Mackie costumes and wear them. When I met Cher, I dont know, I just thought she was the cutest thing ever, and then I looked at her figure and I mean I thought, And so thats kind of how it started. you have no idea how important the fitting process is to him. He has certainly dealt with his share of heartbreak and tragedy (and thats something I think he shares with Cher; they bonded on that as well), but he chooses joy, he chooses life, he chooses color. I chose [to wear Mackie [to the 2009 Met Gala] because to me it represented all the glory and pomp of a red carpet fashion moment at its best. Bob Mackie, photographed at his Los Angeles studio, received a lifetime achievement award from the Council of Fashion Designers of America this week. MPK: That's a combination of both of us, but the idea of a whole episode centered around Bob Mackie, that's RuPaul Charles. He is good looking, elegant and has a charming voice. Well, Bob came up with that, [too]. boom! His freedom talking about his relationship with Ray Aghayan, for one thing. In April 2016, Bob was honored by the Chicago History Museum with the Designer of Excellence Award and was a Geoffrey Beene CFDA Lifetime Achievement Award recipient in 2019. Not only is he just a lovely and pleasant person to work with, but the talent is. Cher, Tina Turner, Bette Midler, Judy Garland, Madonna, Whitney Houston, Dolly Parton, Liza Minnelli, Marlene Dietrich . , and to this day he has retained a childs sense of wonder,pairing itinhis work with craftsmanship, humor, and an instinctive grasp of character. You know one of my most joyous moments was when the CFDA wanted to give Bob an award and he didnt fit in any category that they had, so they created an award for him, its called the exuberance award, and it sums up everything Mackie, because hes an original. There are a lot of young designers coming up that have been inspired by him and appreciate him. Be. After a couple of years working in Vegas, doing stand-up, and singing, and making jokes and whatever, CBS hired them to do a weekly show. Im not sure exactly who talked Bob into doing Seventh Avenue. I look at it this way: Bob had succeeded before he came to Seventh Avenue. . Well, thats good. Mackie: You cant make these crazy-ass clothes unless theyre beautifully made, and hopefully perfectly proportioned for the woman. . Bob Mackie has got to be the busiest 80-year-old on the planet. , and when the ballet came on, I just thought it was the most beautiful thing Id ever seen. [Id] look in the mirror and I said, Oh! I want to wear an outfit. I want to wear something really fun. I had done several outfits for her over the years, some of them were bare midriff and whatever. I look at it and I say, I didnt make that. sonicwave 231c non responsive Uncovering hot babes since 1919.. bob mackie museum tennessee. Edith saw that in me, so every time there was something crazy it would come right straight to me to do. Mallis: When Cher told Bob what she was wanting to wear and how extravagant she wanted it all, he kind of resisted and said, But youre presenting an award, youre going to take the attention away. As it turns out, Don Ameche said he never got more photographed and more publicity than he did when Cher wore that dress to present to himwhich was kind of her way of saying Fuck you to the Academy because she wasnt nominated for Mask. I loved every minute working with him; the work was brilliant, and the workmanship impeccable. Cher: Bob and I are both perfectionists when it comes to fit. Bob sees how you can put things together in a way that I think that a lot of other people dont see. It can be what you say, or what you wear, or how you wear it. And my mother would explain and before I knew it, I was really interested. Movies are a treasure trove of camp. Maybe his name was too associated with a complete other classification. You have to kind of work [character] out visually, and if it helps the comedy in her case, its even better. I thought, Oh, okay. I loved working with Carol because she really let me contribute to the ideas, and sometimes I would help her with a character. THE SONNY & CHER COMEDY HOUR Lets shock people. And there are times where I think she wanted to be more demure and Bob would convince her to be a little riskier, to take a little bit bigger of a swing at something. Bob had the pulse of his clients; he listened to them and he knew what they wanted and he gave the stores what they didnt have. Turners combined album and single sales total approximately 100 million copies worldwide. I stopped and looked to see if I could find out: Well, how did this happen? Where did she get that? So people are really still fascinated with Cher. And they thinkspectacular and funny.ENTER RAY AGHAYAN Midler: Hes a genius, and genius goes in and out of fashion. That associated him with television. The quintessential Bob and Ray: They reinvent period so fabulously that you believe the Bob and Ray way is how it really was. I was doing quite a lot of variety television because it was the nearest thing to movie musicals at the time. His is a singular vision without compromise, and his creations are almost operatic. His pieces sit on the body like couture [does]. Maybe his name was too associated with a complete other classification. Schlatter: When you realize how many costumes Bob did each week for The Carol Burnett Show, and the fact that each one of those costumes had to be built so the [actors] could get in and out of them in under a minute and still look stylish . Hell be a boy until were reading his obituary, I mean he will be. Movie parodies were always a mainstay of the Carol Burnett Showand her 1976 Gone With the Wind takeoff is unforgettable. Thank you for signing up, fellow book lover! Juliet, Tennessee, and in that episode I get to pull out some . and somehow we made her look absolutely fabulous. In 1974, introduced them to its readers thus: Bob Mackie and Ray Aghayan came to show-wiz fame designing glitter costumes for onstage, on screen superstars Carol Channing, Diana Ross, Barbra Streisand, Carol Burnett, and of course, Cher. I went into the costume and Bob said, You know, weve been doing a lot of old ladies lately, lets make her different. So he turned her into this bimbo with the blond wig, and the push-up bra, and the real tight black skirt, and the high heels stilettos. And I said, Bob, youre going to have to take it in back there, because Im flat, and he said, No, no stick your behind into it. And I did and that gave me that look, where it looked like she had a big rear end and that funny walk; that gave me her character. I stopped and looked to see if I could find out: Well, how did this happen? Sure it can, but was it going to make him a success in the eyes of the American public? Juliet, Tennessee, and in that episode I get to pull out some of my old Bob Mackie costumes and wear them. This kid and I who are traveling cross-country, we stop at the fictional Bob Mackie Museum in Mt. ), THE MAN Ad Choices. Everything a love of Tina Turners music and pop culture legacy, a love of historic preservation, a love of local communities and most of all a love for honoring the memories of those that traversed through the doors of Flagg Grove School. What that means is when he shows me a sketch, hes already got ideas of how the piece is actually going to be constructed in three dimensions; he really understands and is interested in how [a piece] is going to go together, and he sees how that plays into making it look the way he wants it to look. Beautifully. Isnt it Diana Vreeland who said that? McFate: Im not sure exactly who talked Bob into doing Seventh Avenue. A 140,000 square foot facility is being built on the northwest corner of the Bicentennial Mall at the corner of Rosa Parks Boulevard and Jefferson Street to tell Tennessee's story by showcasing one-of-a-kind artifacts, art and historical documents in an interactive and engaging way. And bing-bong, there he was on time, and I opened the door, and he looked like he was 12 (he still does), and I said, Are. His famous quote that his clothes are for the woman who is not afraid to be noticed is one of my mantras. 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