A Review from the Palm Springs Art Museum
Palm Springs, CA
Standing inside the Palm Springs Art Museum’s Bob Mackie exhibition, what becomes immediately clear is that Bob Mackie did far more than design costumes. He helped invent the visual language of modern entertainment. The rhinestones, the daring silhouettes, the theatrical wit, the glittering spectacle, these elements did not appear accidentally in American television, music, and stage performance. They were carefully imagined, drawn, stitched, and engineered by Mackie.
And here, in this gallery, those ideas are no longer fleeting images on a television screen. They exist as objects, hand-beaded, sculptural, almost architectural garments that helped shape the identity of some of the most recognizable performers of the last half century.
Before the sequins and feathers, however, there was a young designer growing up in Southern California.
Bob Mackie was born March 24, 1939, in Monterey Park, California. After studying at Pasadena City College and the Chouinard Art Institute in Los Angeles, he began his career as a sketch artist working for major Hollywood costume designers such as Edith Head and Jean Louis. Those early years immersed him in the traditions of Hollywood costume craft, precision tailoring, theatrical storytelling through clothing, and the deep understanding that garments could shape character as much as dialogue.
From those beginnings, Mackie would go on to become one of the defining costume designers of the television variety era. His career spans more than five decades, includes nine Emmy Awards, three Academy Award nominations, and a Tony Award for his Broadway work on The Cher Show. But statistics alone do not explain his influence. Mackie’s real legacy lies in how he helped performers become unforgettable.
Carol Burnett and the Costume That Became Comedy History
One of the most iconic pieces in the exhibition is connected to Carol Burnett, whose groundbreaking television program The Carol Burnett Show ran for eleven seasons.
Mackie designed the costumes for the entire run of the show, a remarkable achievement considering the demands of weekly variety television. At times he was producing more than dozens of costumes every week, dressing the principal cast, dancers, singers, and guest stars while maintaining a visual vocabulary that was both glamorous and comically precise.
Burnett herself later said she often discovered a character only after stepping into one of Mackie’s costumes. In other words, the clothing helped create the performance.
No costume illustrates that better than the legendary “Starlet O’Hara” dress from the show’s famous parody sketch Went With the Wind, a send-up of Gone with the Wind.
In the sketch, Burnett’s character makes a dramatic entrance wearing a gown fashioned from green velvet curtains, complete with the curtain rod still attached across her shoulders. When Harvey Korman admires the dress, Burnett delivers the immortal line:
“Thank you. I saw it in the window and I just couldn’t resist it.”
The joke lands before Burnett even speaks. Mackie understood something fundamental about comedy costume: the visual must deliver the punchline instantly. The audience laughs the moment Burnett appears.
The gown has since become one of the most famous costumes in television history. Seeing it, or even the sketches that led to it, reminds us that Mackie’s brilliance extended beyond glamour. He understood timing, character, and the mechanics of laughter.
I remember watching that sketch when I was a kid, as it originally aired, and the laugh came with almost hotwheel speed. Decades later, the design still works exactly the same way. The costume is a joke, and the joke is perfect.
Cher and the Architecture of Stardom
If Carol Burnett revealed Mackie’s mastery of comedic costume, his decades-long partnership with Cher demonstrated something else entirely: the creation of a superstar.
Mackie first worked with Cher during the era of The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour, and their creative relationship would last for decades. Together they created some of the most recognizable stage costumes in entertainment history.
Mackie once explained that when he first met Cher she did not resemble the typical blonde television star of the time. Instead of trying to fit her into a conventional mold, he realized something more interesting: she could be anything.
From that moment forward, Mackie and Cher essentially reinvented the visual identity of pop performance. The “naked illusion” gowns, the enormous feathered headdresses, the glittering bodysuits, each costume was designed not merely to decorate Cher but to transform her into something mythic.
That collaboration continued through concert tours, television specials, and ultimately the Broadway musical The Cher Show, for which Mackie won the Tony Award for Best Costume Design.
Having seen Cher perform in Mackie costumes during her (If I remember my husband and I attended all 3 of her) farewell tours, I can say firsthand that what appears flamboyant from a distance reveals extraordinary craftsmanship up close. Every inch of fabric, beadwork, and structure is engineered to move with the performer and command the stage. I know a great many drag queens that idolize both Cher and Mackie, however, I don’t ever remember one of them giving a thought to coming on stage, dressed as a gentleman. Though, I can see one of them coming out as Cher, dressed as Mackie. That would be a mashup and a site I would pay to see.
But all in all, Mackie was not simply designing clothing. He was a creative genius at creating spectacle.
Elton John, RuPaul, and the Expanding Universe of Glamour
Mackie’s influence extends far beyond television variety shows.
Beginning in the 1970s he designed some of the most iconic stage looks worn by Elton John, including the sequined Los Angeles Dodgers uniform, the elaborate Donald Duck costume, and a series of flamboyant theatrical outfits that helped define Elton’s early concert persona.
Mackie once described designing for Elton John as creating costumes for a “male showgirl,” an observation that perfectly captures the exuberant theatricality of those performances.
Decades later Mackie would recreate Elton’s famous Dodgers costume for the singer’s farewell concerts at Dodger Stadium, proof that the design had become an enduring symbol of rock-and-roll spectacle.
Mackie’s influence also reached newer generations of performers. RuPaul has said that when he first achieved fame, the first designer he called was Bob Mackie. To wear Mackie, RuPaul explained, was to step into a lineage of glamour.
The list of performers touched by Mackie’s work is staggering: Diana Ross, Tina Turner, Liza Minnelli, Madonna, Mitzi Gaynor, The Pointer Sisters, and many others.
Across television, Broadway, music, and the red carpet, Mackie’s work helped define what glamour looked like for several generations.
A Personal Story About Generosity
The exhibition also reminded me of a personal story, one that reveals something important about Mackie not as a designer, but as a human being.
Years ago I worked as the set designer on a production of The Pajama Game at Desert Foothills Theater. The choreography for the production was created by DeeDee Woods, who was a friend of Bob Mackie’s.
During rehearsals she was told by the costumier that they were unable to find the right tuxedos. Not a conversation a choreographer wants to hear. But being the consummate professional, and one that comes up with a solution in a moment, it became resolved.
DeeDee reached out to Mackie, explained the situation, and asked whether he might be able to help.
Without hesitation, he sent them all.
What struck me even more, however, was what DeeDee said about their friendship. She told me that Bob often sent her handwritten notes, little letters with drawings and costume sketches included. She kept them all in a box at home.
Imagine that for a moment: a box in a closet filled with original Bob Mackie sketches.
To anyone who understands the importance of drawing as imagination on paper, that is not merely correspondence. That was a gift you could only receive from an exceptional gift giving person.
My husband, who was also performing in that production, remembers those conversations just as clearly. DeeDee spoke about Mackie not as a celebrity designer but as a generous and thoughtful collaborator, someone who supported friends and colleagues whenever he could.
It is a small story, perhaps, compared to the global fame of Cher or Elton John. But in many ways it says just as much about the man.
The Legacy of Bob Mackie
Standing in this gallery, surrounded by these costumes and sketches, one realizes that Bob Mackie’s genius was never simply about excess. One of my best designer friend would often say that,
“Less after all, Is Less.”
And Mackie was never less.
Yes, there are feathers. Yes, there are sequins. Yes, there is theatrical spectacle on a grand scale.
But beneath all that brilliance lies something deeper: extraordinary discipline.
Every bead, every line, every silhouette is engineered to help a performer command attention, shape character, and create memory. Mackie understood performers in a way few designers ever have.
That is why these costumes endure.
They are not simply beautiful objects. They are artifacts of performance history, moments when design, personality, and imagination fused together to create something unforgettable.
And here in Palm Springs, those moments shimmer again.
Visiting the Exhibition
Palm Springs Art Museum
Working as a museum professional in exhibit design, I have to give a shoutout to the Palm Springs Art Museum.
The exhibition is presented at the Palm Springs Art Museum, one of the Coachella Valley’s most important cultural institutions. Founded in 1938 and located in downtown Palm Springs at 101 Museum Drive, the museum has grown into a major visual and performing arts center with a permanent collection of more than 24,000 works spanning contemporary art, Western American art, photography, glass, architecture, and design.
The museum has long been a cornerstone of the region’s cultural life, bringing world-class exhibitions, educational programs, and performances to the desert while also serving as a gathering place for artists, collectors, and visitors from around the world.
The Bob Mackie presentation, titled “Reflections of Glamour: Bob Mackie,” is installed in the museum’s main building and offers a rare opportunity to see original garments and design sketches by one of the most influential costume designers in modern entertainment.
The exhibition opened January 26, 2026, and runs through March 30, 2026, and is included with regular museum admission.
Rather than presenting a full retrospective, the museum has chosen to highlight a carefully curated group of works, five original gowns and costumes accompanied by Mackie’s original design sketches from the 1970s through the early 2000s. These pieces reflect Mackie’s collaborations with an extraordinary range of performers including Carol Burnett, Cher, Diana Ross, Elton John, Liza Minnelli, Madonna, Mitzi Gaynor, and Tina Turner.
The exhibition was presented in conjunction with the museum’s annual Art Party gala, one of Palm Springs’ most anticipated cultural events. The 2026 gala honored Bob Mackie for his lifetime contributions to the performing arts and design, with Carol Burnett appearing as the featured presenter celebrating her longtime collaborator.
The evening also featured a performance by Broadway star Stephanie J. Block, whose Tony-winning role in The Cher Show showcased recreated Mackie designs from the original sketches.
Like many major museum presentations, the exhibition was made possible through the generosity of donors and community supporters. Among the presenting supporters of the Art Party celebration were Steven Brown and Richard Cain, whose leadership helped anchor the event. Major sponsors also included the Murray/Reese Foundation (Jonathan Murray and Harvey Reese), Linda and Kerry Killinger, The Meyerman Charitable Fund, Helen and Amjad Bangash, Mary Bechmann and the Kelvin Foundation, and the City of Palm Springs, along with numerous additional patrons and philanthropic supporters who contributed at multiple sponsorship levels.
The result of that collective support is an exhibition that celebrates not only Bob Mackie’s extraordinary career, but also the enduring connection between Palm Springs and the world of entertainment, performance, and design.
Final Reflection
Standing in front of these costumes, what becomes clear is that Bob Mackie’s work exists at the intersection of fashion, theater, comedy, music, and a shared cultural memory. His designs helped define the visual identity of television’s golden age, the spectacle of Las Vegas, the glamour of the red carpet, and the mythology of modern pop icons.
And here, inside the Palm Springs Art Museum, those moments live again, sparkling under gallery lights, reminding us that sometimes the most powerful works of art are the ones that first appeared under a stage spotlight.