USITT is thrilled to announce that fashion designer Bob Mackie, the mind behind numerous Emmy and Tony Award-winning productions, will attend USITT’s 65th Annual Conference & Stage Expo in Columbus as a special guest! Check out his schedule below, and get ready to dive into the world of fashion with him on Thursday and Friday, March 6 & 7!

Thursday, March 6 at 6 p.m. in the Union Station Ballroom

Join us for a special screening of the recently released documentary directed by Matthew Miele, Bob Mackie: Naked Illusion! Bob Mackie himself will be in attendance as we explore the depth and breadth of his illustrious career. Doors open at 6 p.m., with the screening officially starting at 6:30 p.m. This event has limited seating and is only open to attendees with a full-conference registration. Make sure you RSVP during your registration process. Already registered? No problem! Hop into the Attendee Service Center and RSVP to the screening today!

Thursday, March 6 at 8 p.m. in the Union Station Ballroom

After the screening, attendees may stay for an open Q&A with Bob Mackie! Hosted by Stephen Cabral, Director of the TDF Costume Collection, this Q&A is your chance to dive deep into Mr. Mackie’s experiences designing for a collection of live entertainment’s most prolific performers!

Friday, March 7 at 11 a.m. in Booth 1133

Finally, join us on the Expo floor on Friday morning for a book signing! The USITT bookstore will be selling a limited number of copies of The Art of Bob Mackie, by Frank Vlastnik and Laura Ross on Thursday beginning at 11 a.m. Grab your copy on Thursday at the USITT Bookstore and have it ready to be signed by the man himself on Friday!

We can’t wait to welcome Bob Mackie to Columbus — the number one metro city in the U.S. for concentration of professionals working in the apparel and fashion industry. We hope to see you at all of these events and more this March!

An Evening with Bob Mackie is sponsored by TDF.

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER!

 

 

About Bob Mackie

Costume and fashion designer Bob Mackie is a nine-time Emmy Award winner, Geoffrey Beene CFDA Lifetime Achievement Award recipient, and has three Oscar nominations. He received a 2019 Tony Award, Drama Desk Award, and Outer Critics Circle Award for his work on The Cher Show. His Broadway credits include Moon Over Buffalo and Putting It Together, starring Carol Burnett, Best Little Whorehouse Goes Public, Minnelli on Minnelli, Lorelei with Carol Channing, and On the Town with Bernadette Peters and Phyllis Newman. Broadway on television: “Once Upon a Mattress” starring Carol Burnett, “Gypsy” starring Bette Midler, “Carousel,” “Brigadoon,” “Of Thee I Sing,” and “Kismet.” Bob’s inventive and memorable designs have helped raise entertainers like Tina Turner, Diana Ross, Cher, Elton John, Ann-Margret, Bernadette Peters, Miley Cyrus, Mitzi Gaynor, Carol Burnett, Bette Midler, Pink, Zendaya, and Cher to iconic status both onscreen and off.

About Bob Mackie: The Naked Illusion

Bob Mackie: Naked Illusion showcases the six-decade career of award-winning costume designer, Bob Mackie. And like his costumes, Bob Mackie is wholly unique and unfiltered, which makes for a compelling and candid subject. 

The film examines Bob's unique upbringing, those whom he has held dear within his inner circle, and the familial surprises in his life that have all contributed to the optimism and audacity present in his work.

Because the film is fully authorized, Quixotic Endeavors was given access to the full Bob Mackie archive, which has been meticulously kept and curated with many rare and unseen artifacts, including the outfits that didn't make the cut. We also capture the over-the-top costumes as they get sequined and beaded from sketch to stage. Specific highlights include some of the soon-to-be lost art methods by old-world artisans that help make each outfit Mackie conjures something to behold and remember.

The documentary feature includes original interviews with Bob Mackie clients and collaborators, along with those he has inspired - designers, stylists, comedians and actors, as well as Bob's first-person account of some of his most iconic looks from The Carol Burnett Show's Startlett O'Hara dress to Cher's 1986 Academy Awards look with feathered headdress and Tina Turner's iconic concert costumes. Bob Mackie is a truly peerless and timeless costume designer, with interviews from Cher to Pink, to Tom Ford and Miley Cyrus, to Rupaul and Carol Burnett a testament to that fact.

About Director Matthew Miele

A storyteller above all else, Matthew Miele has drawn upon his various experiences in music composition, publishing, and screenwriting to become a successful producer and director of critically acclaimed, and internationally renowned, feature-length documentaries.

Past films include Scatter My Ashes at Bergdorf’s, Harry Benson: Shoot First, Always at The Carlyle and Alan Pakula: Going for Truth.

Miele’s latest film release, Bob Mackie: Naked Illusion, chronicles the unprecedented six- decade career of award-winning costume designer Bob Mackie. The film further examines Bob’s unique upbringing, those whom he has held dear within his inner circle, and the familial surprises in his life that have all contributed to the optimism and audacity present in his work.

Up next for Miele and currently in production are fully authorized documentaries on the legendary lyricist Bernie Taupin, and an inside look at the renowned New York City comedy club, Comedy Cellar.