Bob's buddy Cher in "Vanity Fair" this past month.
The dude to her left is prolly creamin his panties!
Cher "Turning Back Time" at the VMAs 2010.
Singing "Take Me Home"... I wanna take that ensemble home.
I've got a baby shower coming up with nothing to wear!
Cher in Bob's "understated look"
On a serious note, I did get the rare honor to meet Mr. Mackie. I was in design school in L.A. in 2001 and called his costume shop in order to see if they could ID some sketches he may have illustrated. The gentleman on the other line was more than happy to invite me down to the shop so he could tell me if Bob drew them. I asked if he was that familiar with Mackie's work and career, and he said "Of course! I AM Bob!" I was floored! So we spoke for a bit more and coordinated a time for me to stop by and before I hung up he told me in passing to bring my portfolio too. I mean REALLY! The Raja of Rhinestones was gonna take time out of his day to just shoot the breeze with a 19 year old kid and look over his college level portfolio!?
When I showed up I asked to see Bob, he met me out front where he quickly IDed the sketches as being his work and then he invited me to take a tour of his facility, lead by him, Bob Mackie. Who does that!?
He showed me his work table where he still sketches in Prismacolors and behind him were all the Barbie (registered trademark of the Mattel corporation) patterns. So at this point I felt like I was on some sort of Acid trip gone awry. This can't be real, but it kept on going. He showed the room where the little ladies were beading a gown. Then we walked past a magenta fox fur cocoon coat on a dress form and he stopped to show me the narrow strip of beading inserted between the pelts. He said "You can't even see it, but I'm a masochist." SO CHARMING!
After the tour we sat at his work table where he went through my portfolio. He was very complimentary of my sketches and ideas. Even is he was patronizing me I didn't care. My idol was looking at me book!
I will never forget that meeting and it fuels my inspiration and attitude toward the fashion industry to this VERY day. He's at the top of his fashion career and he is still nice and personable. He's not hiding behind dark sunglasses and a fan with a sour look on his face barking orders. He's smiling at his coworkers and sitting at his desk doing his own illustrations. That dude is my hero! So much so I had to make it known by hand sequinning a t-shirt. Which I rock as often as I can! Mad props to Mr. Mackie!
Philip - In Brooklyn
When I showed up I asked to see Bob, he met me out front where he quickly IDed the sketches as being his work and then he invited me to take a tour of his facility, lead by him, Bob Mackie. Who does that!?
He showed me his work table where he still sketches in Prismacolors and behind him were all the Barbie (registered trademark of the Mattel corporation) patterns. So at this point I felt like I was on some sort of Acid trip gone awry. This can't be real, but it kept on going. He showed the room where the little ladies were beading a gown. Then we walked past a magenta fox fur cocoon coat on a dress form and he stopped to show me the narrow strip of beading inserted between the pelts. He said "You can't even see it, but I'm a masochist." SO CHARMING!
After the tour we sat at his work table where he went through my portfolio. He was very complimentary of my sketches and ideas. Even is he was patronizing me I didn't care. My idol was looking at me book!
I will never forget that meeting and it fuels my inspiration and attitude toward the fashion industry to this VERY day. He's at the top of his fashion career and he is still nice and personable. He's not hiding behind dark sunglasses and a fan with a sour look on his face barking orders. He's smiling at his coworkers and sitting at his desk doing his own illustrations. That dude is my hero! So much so I had to make it known by hand sequinning a t-shirt. Which I rock as often as I can! Mad props to Mr. Mackie!
Philip - In Brooklyn
Fascinating. Thanks for this wonderful post.
ReplyDelete