Bob Mackie, while one of the world’s richest and most renowned designers, is best known for one thing and one thing only: being the mastermind behind the iconic wardrobe of the one and only Cher.
More often than not, when Cher graced the stage of Sonny & Cher or the Cher show, she would pull off a fabulous outfit reveal to show off a jaw-dropping Bob Mackie number.
He’s dressed her for red carpets, award shows, music videos, you name it, the duo go hand and hand on the red carpet. You can hardly think of Bob Mackie without thinking of Cher, and you can hardly picture Cher without one of Mackie’s fabulous designs.
But there is one Cher look that Mackie is hesitant to take credit for. In 1989, he designed a scandalous, sheer body suit for her infamous “If I Could Turn Back Time” music video. In his documentary Bob Mackie: Naked Illusion, Mackie explains he agreed to design the outfit for his favorite client so long as no one ever knew that it was he who did it.
Cher agreed and the outfit has grown less scandalous and more and more iconic with time.
Secretly or not so secretly, Mackie owes a hefty amount of his success to Cher. But, he began his career in the 1960s as a costume designer with Paramount Studios. There he earned his living sketching designs for other icons like Marilyn Monroe. His sketch of her infamous dress for John F. Kennedy’s Birthday Gala is the one that launched him into sartorial stardom.
His long-term partnerships with stars like Cher, Diana Ross, Whitney Houston, and Carol Burnett were likely what kept his career afloat. As long as they were relevant, so was he. And since he only partnered with icons and staples of the industry, his career has stayed afloat for over 60 years, and the money keeps flowing in.
Mackie is known for his eye for intricate detail, and designs laced with masterfully placed rhinestones and sequins upon tastefully laid-out sheer fabric. That eye for detail is what has earned Mackie three Oscar nominations, nine Emmys, one Tony, and the well-deserved title “Sultan of Sequins.”
Mackie hasn’t earned his living through custom designs alone. In the 1990s he released a Wearable Art Collection with QVC. He also has a line of Barbie Dolls adorned with his iconic dresses and costumes. He’s also released fragrances, luxury jewelry, and luggage, and has an entire Amazon storefront where fans can peruse his more affordable homeware, accessories, and bags.
In 2016, he put his colorful Los Angeles home on the market for $2.18 million, a nice chunk of change to pile on top of his towering net worth.
A six-decade career, thousands of dresses and designs, dozens of awards, and a never-waning appreciation from fashion lovers everywhere probably won’t leave you hurting for cash. But Mackie is only the 133rd richest designer, according to Nichesss.
Granted, that still puts him at a comfortable net worth of $10 million, per Celebrity Net Worth. A few million dollars plus a close professional relationship with Cher sounds like a pretty good career to me.
