CFDA to award Bob Mackie with Geoffrey Beene Lifetime Achievement Award

By

Gabriella Lacombe

Published
May 6, 2019

The Council of Fashion Designers of America has announced that fashion designer and costumer Bob Mackie will receive the Geoffrey Beene Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2019 CFDA Fashion Awards.

Mackie, who began his career as a sketch artist for costume designers in film, went on to become a wardrobe designer for Bette Midler, Carol Burnett, Diana Ross, Liza Minnelli, Cher and The Carol Burnett Show, in addition to designing for Cher’s concert tours and multiple theatrical productions like Minnelli on Minnelli with Liza Minelli and On the Town with Bernadette Peters.

Over the course of his five-decade career, Mackie has snagged nine Emmy Award wins and three Academy Award nominations. Most recently, the 80-year-old designer created over 600 costumes for The Cher Show on Broadway, earning a 2019 Tony Award nomination for Best Costume Design of a Musical.

Previously, Mackie’s career has been honored at the Museum at The Fashion Institute of Technology, which held the retrospective 'Unmistakably Mackie' in 1999.

“Bob Mackie is one of the most prolific designers of all time,” said Steven Kolb, president and CEO of the CFDA. “He is a true artist and the ultimate showman.”

Past recipients of the Geoffrey Beene Lifetime Achievement Award include Narciso Rodriguez, Rick Owens, Norma Kamali, Betsey Johnson and incoming CFDA chairman Tom Ford, among others.

The 2019 CFDA Fashion Awards will take place on June 3 at the Brooklyn Museum.