Celebrity fashion designer Bob Mackie has told Newsweek he is “OK” after a sidewalk fall left him battered and bruised.
The 85-year-old mastermind behind pivotal fashion moments of stars including Cher, Tina Turner, Miley Cyrus and Zendaya was rushed to hospital after tripping on a Subway grate and plunging face-first to the ground.
“I have a few bruises, my nose is swollen, but I’m OK,” he reassured Newsweek. Mackie also suffered a cut over his right eye and a sliced upper lip.
The design legend was on his way to watch The Rockettes Christmas Spectacular recently at Radio City Music Hall in New York when an ambulance was called following his fall on 6th Avenue, close to the venue. At the time he was in the middle of a publicity campaign for his new documentary, Bob Mackie: Naked Illusion.
Mackie was apologetic for his appearance as he got back to work promoting the production which details his career in fashion and how he became the go-to designer for some of Hollywood’s biggest acts.
“You expect to look a little better when you do [press],” he said. “But I wear my glasses, I put on my hat, you know, and I hug the people I know and it’s good, it’s all good.” He also told how the stressful situation was eased during his treatment when an EMT worker told him she was a fan and showed a picture of her most recent Halloween costume, a tribute to his work.
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The documentary follows Mackie’s career from his early days as a sketch artist for Paramount Studios to his current status as one of Hollywood’s most sought-after designers. In the 1960s and 70s, Mackie rose to prominence by designing dazzling ensembles for popular variety shows such as The Judy Garland Show, Cher and The Carol Burnett Show. Before long, he had a variety of famous faces wanting to work with him.
It also includes exclusive interviews with the likes of Cher, Pink, Tom Ford, Miley Cyrus, RuPaul and Carol Burnett. While Mackie has rubbed shoulders with celebrities and attended lavish events, designing is hard work.
“Well you know, everybody said, ‘Oh you must have so much fun.’ I said, ‘It isn’t really fun, it’s actually hard work, and it’s like a science,'” he explained.
“You really have to analyze each one as a separate entity to itself and that’s what makes them special, otherwise you have a bunch of active look-alikes, and we try not to do that.”
It might come as a shock that Mackie never intended for this to be his career, as he told Newsweek: “I’ve never wanted to be a fashion designer but it kind of happened on its own, you know. When Cher first came on the air, all of a sudden, manufacturers were making things that look like Cher might have worn it.
“Stores wouldn’t even buy a dress with a halter neckline, ‘Oh no, no we can’t sell those, nobody wants that.’ And before you know it, that’s all they were selling because of her.”
However, this career makes sense for Mackie, as his first love was film. He was enthralled by the costumes, the color and the fun and was particularly inspired by the 1951 film An American in Paris. It was this movie that resulted in his wanting to be in the entertainment industry.
“I just went to every movie I could see, every movie that was a musical, every movie that was technicolor and adventurous and fun,” he said.
“And I love movies about show business, which nobody else that I knew, all the kids I knew, they never thought about it one way or another. And here I was, that’s all I cared about, I’d read books about it. You kind of know where you’re going.
“When I was 12, I saw a movie called An American in Paris with Jean Kelly and Leslie Caron. And there’s a ballet in it about French Impressionists and I had been kind of on my own studying those paintings because I thought they were so beautiful and all of a sudden, there’s a ballet devoted to that.
“When that movie finished I said to myself, ‘Well now I know I’m going to do that, that’s what I’ll do and this will work for me, I can do this.'”
From initial sketches to final, dazzling stage ensembles, Bob Mackie: Naked Illusion also takes audiences behind the curtain of Mackie’s bold ideas into pieces of wearable art. It also details how Mackie continues to transform the way fashion is perceived.
The documentary highlights his global fame, something which has baffled Mackie, who comes across as incredibly grounded, despite his influence.
“I’m always surprised if anybody outside of the USA, or California for that matter, even knows who I am,” he said.
“I did a talk to an audience talk at the museum in London. And I was so surprised that people came with books and things to sign and whatever. And I thought, ‘Wow, I didn’t think anybody knew who I was,’ I hadn’t been there in a long time.
“And I never have done a job there, really, where I worked and designed a show, which I’d love to do. But who knows? I mean, feel free to hire me. I’d love to go to London for a month and do a show.”
And if you’re wondering if Mackie ever made it to the Rockettes Christmas performance, you’ll be happy to know he did, eventually.
“Remember Bob Mackie got injured in NYC this past week on his way to the The Christmas Spectacular at Radio City Music Hall? Well, he ended up missing the show. BUT the team reached out and arranged for Bob to finally see it and he loved it! He even got to see a sketch of one of the designs he created for the Rockettes in 1981,” a post on his Instagram reads.
Bob Mackie: Naked Illusion is currently showing in select theaters and will stream on major platforms.
