“A Conversation with Bob Mackie: Naked Illusion” is what you get in this American documentary; Bob Mackie and many others, predominately entertainers and celebrities, discussing the career of American costume designer Bob Mackie.
Mackie, now 85, started sketching as a boy preferring that to athletic pursuits. When asked what he wanted to do “when you grow up” he answered a “fashion designer on Broadway”. At 21 years of age his first job was sketching for Jean Louis and Mackie sketched the dress that Jean Louis then designed for Marylyn Monroe to sing “Happy Birthday” to President John F. Kennedy. He designed extensively for The Judy Garland Show, The Carol Burnett Show and The Sonny and Cher Show. Mackie has had a long costume designing relationship with Cher creating unique costume designs lending her a persona that she might not have otherwise had. Elton John credits some of his success to the outlandish Mackie costumes.
There are countless testaments to his talents from Carol Burnett, Cher, Mitzi Gaynor, Pink, Miley Cyrus, Elton John, Ru Paul and others.
Costume designers create theatrical “outfits” and require an ability to translate personality into costumes i.e. will it compliment the personality and make a lasting statement. There is no better example than the costume created for Cher for the 58th annual Academy Awards presentation, a fuck you dress she wore to snub the Academy. A few of the comments made by subjects in the documentary are “visual beauty”, “larger than life”, “scandalous” “performance fashion” and “Hollywood creations”.
Mackie was influenced as a youngster by the musicals he saw on television and in the movie theatre such as the costumes worn in the Ziegfeld Follies.
The costumes in the documentary speak for themselves and the talent of Bob Mackie.
There is scant and fuzzy information as to his personal life and sexuality. Mackie was married to LuLu Porter divorcing her in 1963 with costume designer Ray Aghayan becoming his life partner until his death in 2011. His son Robin died of an HIV related illness in 1993 which shook Mackie to the extent he refused to elaborate any further in the documentary.
Although the documentary is deep down Mackie it is also somewhat of a history of costume design in the United States.
“A Conversation with Bob Mackie: Naked Illusion” will be showing in Toronto at Toronto Hot Docs Ted Rogers Cinema 18/19January2025 with Bob Mackie and his design director Joe McFate in attendance and in conversation.
You can watch the trailer here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ZSLQ_E3eXQ
Directed by Matthew Miele.
RKS 2025 Documentary Film Rating 86/100.
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