Bob Mackie received a King Vidor award for excellence in filmmaking from the San Luis Obispo Film Festival on April 28 at Hotel San Luis Obispo.
The award is named after prolific director King Vidor, whose career includes many enduring film classics from the 20th century. According to the SLO Film Festival website, the award seeks to recognize “talented individuals who fulfill the high standards set by this amazing man [King Vidor], who also had a passion for his ranch in Paso Robles. “
Bob Mackie sat down with Cal Poly Costume Design professor Thomas Bernard to accept the award and have a public conversation alongside his Design Director, Joe McFate.
The conversation came after a screening of “Bob Mackie: Naked Illusion,” a documentary looking into Mackie’s personal life and career, directed by Matthew Miele.
Over Mackie’s career, he has designed and dressed several celebrities and public figures, including Cher, P!nk, Tina Turner, Elton John, Carol Burnett, Diana Ross, Miley Cyrus, Zendaya, and Marilyn Monroe.
Skye McLennan, the Executive Director for SLO Film Festival and SLO Film Center, said that she felt Mackie deserved to be honored in this way because of his impact. “When we came across this film about his life, how many hearts he’s touched, and how much of an iconic designer he is, I knew other people in our community would love him as much as I do personally,” she said.
San Luis Obispo residents noted how special Mackie is to their community.
“Oh, it’s amazing to have an icon like [him] here in our small little county, at a small venue and be able to actually see him, hear him, touch him, it’s pretty amazing,” said Andrea Scott, a retired San Luis Obispo local.
Mackie has also worked with several drag performers over his career and was even awarded by American drag queen and television host, RuPaul, a “Giving Us Life-time Achievement Award” for his designs.
In attendance at the event were drag queens Cleo Van Scarlett, Pandora Mystere and Juicy CW, who noted the importance of his influence on the drag and queer community.
“It opens doors really. When you have someone as big of a name as Bob Mackie and then doing something for the queer community it shines a light. It just brings more fashion and more inspiration,” Van Scarlett said.
At the end of the public conversation, the floor opened for audience members to ask questions to Mackie. One member from the audience chose to personally thank Mackie for the Bob Mackie scholarship he provides every year to the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising in Los Angeles. The scholarship seeks to provide a full tuition scholarship to its recipients.
“It’s amazing what you can learn in the right school,” Mackie said.
Another audience member asked Mackie if he was still designing and going to continue in the future. Mackie responded by saying, “Sure. Am I supposed to stop now? If you’re good at something, you’re not just going to stop.”
