He Drew Marilyn's Most Famous Dress and Got No Credit

Bob Mackie died on 14 September 2026, aged 87. At twenty-three he drew the sketch for the most famous dress of the twentieth century, the one Marilyn Monroe wore to sing "Happy Birthday" to President Kennedy in 1962, and the credit went to his boss. He spent the eleven years that followed making somewhere between fifty and seventy costumes a week for The Carol Burnett Show, and the decades after that dressing Cher, Diana Ross, Elton John, Tina Turner and the showgirls of Las Vegas. This episode covers the year of art school he abandoned for a job, the curtain dress now in the Smithsonian, the 1974 "naked dress" that turned the Met Gala into what it is now, the feathered mohawk at the 1986 Oscars, the flame dress that six different stars have worn across fifty years, a fashion label that failed and came back and failed again, and the Tony he finally won at eighty. ------------- Find our Podcast on Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music or where ever you listen to your podcasts. ------------- Watch our other videos: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLM3OqLHVo6eGkl86dsCJlWdQg9UNuNoWm https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLM3OqLHVo6eH5hSfUOdjVzGLZxfJOKbeG -------------- 💬 Which fashion icon should we explore next? Let me know what you think in the comments. 👍 Like, 🔔 subscribe, and click the bell so you never miss an icon. https://www.youtube.com/@TheFashionMemoir ✨ Remember: in fashion as in life, be fearless and fabulous — this is The Fashion Memoir.