The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute has yet to announce a replacement for its Spring 2027 exhibition, originally supposed to celebrate John Galliano. That plan went down in flames after many influential people were not ready to forgive the designer’s past antisemitic statements, despite his continued work and friendship with Met trustee Anna Wintour.
After this P.R. fiasco, the Met and Ms. Wintour should instead pick an underappreciated crowd-pleaser: Bob Mackie, the Sultan of Sequins, who died last month at 87. Mr. Mackie became famous as a Hollywood costume designer, not a member of Ms. Wintour’s inner circle. As Cher put it, “Bob did costumes, and fashion people looked down on him for some reason.”
He won nine Emmy Awards — including the very first ever awarded for costume design — and designed showstopping dresses for Tina Turner, Barbra Streisand, Dolly Parton, Madonna, Whitney Houston, and Beyoncé. He understood the viral-dress moment before the internet. The fashion world never quite accepted him, and the Council of Fashion Designers of America gave him an award for “fashion exuberance.”
It’s time for Mr. Mackie to finally get his due. Mr. Galliano and Mr. Mackie share technical brilliance and showmanship, but Mr. Mackie’s work in television and performance deserves recognition as couture. The Costume Institute, rooted in theater, should honor him.
Source: New York Times Top Stories · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing