Bob Mackie dies at 87

Bob Mackie, the designer whose work shaped the public images of Cher, Carol Burnett, Diana Ross and other high-profile performers, has died at 87. The announcement was made Monday through Mackie’s official Instagram account.

“It is with a heavy heart that we share the news that Mr. Bob Mackie passed away today. 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," read the statement.

No cause of death was immediately announced.

Mackie worked across television, film, theater and fashion during a career that lasted more than six decades. He received multiple Emmy Awards and three Academy Award nominations, and won a Tony Award for his costume designs for The Cher Show. His costumes combined glamour, humor and theatricality, often using sequins, feathers, crystals, metallic fabrics and revealing silhouettes. His clients included Cher, Dolly Parton, Tina Turner, Elton John, Miley Cyrus and Diana Ross. He became widely known as the “Sultan of Sequins," as well as one of the inventors of sheer dressing.

Mackie's creative partnership with Cher was especially influential in his career. Mackie designed many of the singer’s most recognizable stage and public appearances, helping establish the bold, highly stylized image that became central to her career.

He was also closely associated with The Carol Burnett Show, designing costumes for the long-running television program and collaborating with Burnett on some of its best-known characters and sketches. His work for the show demonstrated his ability to make clothing function as both fashion and comedy.

Burnett paid tribute to Mackie in a statement to USA Today on Monday.

“Sadness doesn't come close to how I feel. I loved him very much,” she wrote. “As for his genius, there are fashion designers who don't do costumes and there are costume designers who don't do fashion. Bob did it all. There was no one like him.”

The costume designer also owned his namesake brand through an entity called Bob Mackie Design Group, which was 60 percent owned by Schwartz and only 40 percent by Mackie.