Ahead of Miley Cyrus performing her hit song “Flowers” at the Grammys earlier this week, Bob Mackie and his design director, Joe McFate—who has worked alongside the legendary designer for more than 20 years—were treated to, well, a more intimate performance of the live number. During a fitting with the star, who wore one of Mackie’s archival beaded dresses on the main stage, Cyrus performed the song’s free-spirited choreography for them—you know, to see if the dress would work with all the movements. “She did the whole number,” says McFate. “It was a riot!”
The dress, indeed, worked: Cyrus’s shimmering Mackie ended up being one of the Grammys’ most discussed fashion moments. A huge fan of Mackie’s designs, Cyrus and her stylist, Bradley Kenneth, approached the designer about wearing something from his archives to the Grammys. “She’s borrowed a few things in the past,” including for her New Year’s Eve special with Dolly Parton last year, Mackie says. “Every time I’ve ever seen her in anything that I’ve [designed], I’ve adored it because she loves to perform and get dressed up—you know that she’s loving every minute of it.”
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The dress that Cyrus wore—complete with a swishy hemline and ab-bearing cutout—was from Mackie’s 2002 collection, titled To Broadway With Love. “It was a collection of fashions inspired by Broadway musicals,” says Mackie. “[Cyrus’s dress] was from a ‘Big Spender’ number. We had three girls in these little sexy fringe dresses.” Keeping Cyrus’s choreography in mind, Mackie knew the dress was perfect for her. “She’s there to entertain,” says Mackie, while McFate added, “And God knows a little sparkle will do that.”
Cyrus certainly isn’t the only Hollywood star who’s flocked to Mackie’s archives. Recently a hot new crop of It girls have all come knocking, hoping to wear one of his vintage frocks on the red carpet. “Sometimes it makes me feel very old,” laughs Mackie. Take Anya Taylor-Joy, who donned a beaded white Mackie wedding dress in 2020, or Zendaya, who wore Mackie’s taffeta-and-velvet ball gown to a Time gala in 2022. “That was a surprise of our career,” says McFate of the viral Zendaya moment. “She’s a huge fan—and she looked so good in it.”
While Mackie’s vintage dresses are fast becoming Hollywood’s most in-demand pieces, they’re not easy to get. “It’s not because we’re snobby or anything,” McFate says of the selective approach to who gets to wear a Mackie dress and where. “Our archive is very specific. In the past, [all of Bob’s pieces] were custom, so we can’t just send a rack of clothes out for someone to try on. It has to fit, and it has to be the right performer.” Mackie’s dresses are so coveted that stars have been known to buy them from resale sites—or go as far as asking fellow celebrities to borrow theirs, like when Pink borrowed Cher’s rose-gold beaded feather number for the 2022 American Music Awards.
As for where all of Mackie’s precious archival gems are stored? Good luck finding that out: Mackie’s archive is kept in a top-secret (and climate-controlled) location somewhere in California. There, his intricate array of theatrical designs is looked after carefully. “The beaded dresses are all stored flat, and some of the large ball gowns are all hanging because they’re too big to put anywhere flat,” McFate says. The pair joked about what would happen if the address to Mackie’s archives was ever leaked. “Drag queens would come beating down our doors!” McFate adds.
Looking ahead, you can expect stars to continue reviving Mackie’s dresses on the carpet—when the time and place is right. (The 2024 Met Gala, perhaps?) But that’s not all fans of the legendary designer have to look forward to: Coming up, Mackie’s life in style will be the subject of a new documentary. Names like Tom Ford, Cher, Carol Burnett, and RuPaul will make appearances in the film. “It’s not just a tribute, it’s a story of his life,” says McFate. “There’s some heartbreaking and touching moments in his life that a lot of people don’t know about.” Consider us seated.
