Legendary fashion designer Bob Mackie, who dressed stars from Cher to Diana Ross, Elton John, Madonna and more in his ornate, custom creations, died Monday at age 87.

“It is with a heavy heart that we share the news that Mr. Bob Mackie passed away today,” a post on the official Bob Mackie Instagram account said. “He lived his 87 years to the fullest, fulfilling his dream of being a fashion and costume designer, which is all he ever wanted to do. His genius and extraordinary designs will live on forever, continuing to bring beauty into this world.”

He reportedly died at a hospital of pneumonia.

For much of his 60-year career, Mackie was a go-to designer among Hollywood’s biggest names. Of the many VIPs he worked with, the late designer once told WWD: “They just become part of my family.

“People say, ‘Oh, well, didn’t you have trouble with any of them?’ and I say, ‘Hardly any — I really had the best people working with me. They liked what I did and I loved what they did. When you dress somebody, you’ve really got to know them inside and out especially if they’re performers. You have to know what’s good for them and how to make them look the best. Also, having a knowledge of their talents helps.”

It was Mackie who in 1962 sketched Marilyn Monroe’s “Happy Birthday Mr. President” dress, which featured a sheer blush lace and feather gown, and was eventually designed by Jean Louis for the late starlet.

Soon after that, Mackie began working on “The Judy Garland Show,” where he met and designed for stars like Liza Minnelli, Lena Horne and Diahann Carroll. By 1967 he had started on “The Carol Burnett Show,” where, according to a 2021 interview with WWD, he designed 60 to 70 costumes a week for 11 years.

It was via the Burnett show that Mackie, who was born in Monterey Park, Calif., and moved to New York in 1982, met Cher, thus sparking a yearslong, prolific relationship between the two that saw them both praised and castigated — sometimes for the same outfit.

Over the years, Mackie’s standout designs for Cher included a red-fringe getup she wore during her “Living Proof: The Farewell Tour,” as well as one of his most iconic designs, the “naked dress” he crafted for Cher to wear to the 1974 Met Gala, which was completely sheer save for some sequins and feathers. Many argue the dress single-handedly sparked a new genre of red carpet dressing, inspiring the likes of Rihanna’s 2014 Adam Selman gown worn to the CFDA Awards and more.

“You couldn’t give away a halter dress until I started putting it on Cher. Then, that’s all department stores wanted,” the designer told WWD.

He also said that, contrary to popular belief, he sometimes tried to talk Cher down from some of her most eccentric sartorial decisions: “I’d try to discourage her, and say, ‘Are you sure you want to wear that? You’ll be pulling focus from whoever you give an award.’ But the next morning her picture would be everywhere and then for the next 30 years, too. She knew and she loves to dress up, too.”

Mackie also designed for movies, including Diana Ross’ 1972 Billie Holiday biopic “Lady Sings the Blues” and the 1978 “Star Wars Holiday Special,” among others.

New generations of pop stars flocked to wear Mackie’s extravagant designs, among them Sabrina Carpenter, who wore a sequin-adorned “The Swamp Dress” from his 1986 spring collection to the 2025 MTV VMAs; Miley Cyrus, who wore a silver-beaded dress from his 2002 “To Broadway With Love” collection to the 2024 Grammys, where she accepted her first two career Grammy Awards, and Taylor Swift, who wore one of his “Showgirl” costumes.

In 2018, Mackie designed more than 600 costumes for “The Cher Show,” which opened that year on Broadway, and took home his first Tony Award for the production in 2019.

“Creating and dressing a character for a play, and making the audience understand who that is they’re watching and where they came from just by the way they look, is so much fun,” said Mackie, who resettled to Palm Springs, Calif., during the pandemic, in an interview.

In 2021, Simon & Schuster released “The Art of Bob Mackie,” a book by Frank Vlastnik and Laura Ross which chronicled the designer’s life and talent. Just a few years later, director Matthew Miele introduced a documentary titled “Bob Mackie: The Naked Illusion,” which similarly charted his rise as one of fashion’s most iconic creatives and costume designers.

Said Mackie ahead of the documentary release: “I really like what I do and I enjoy doing it. It never occurred to me not to.”