"Nothing had to be taken in. Most normal women cannot get into that dress. She is so beautifully toned," dress designer Bob Mackie shares with Inside Edition's Leigh Scheps. "Everything fits her like a fashion model."
Miley Cyrus was the talk of the town, changing outfits at least four times from stunner to sizzling — wearing Tom Ford, Gucci, Bob Mackie and Maison Margiela, over the course of the entire Grammys evening.
She arrived on the red carpet for the 66th annual awards ceremony in a custom-made, gold Maison Margiela Artisanal dress with teased hair inspired by the 1968 movie “Barberella,” giving Jane Fonda throwback vibes. The dress was designed for her by creative director John Galliano and constructed in the haute couture ateliers of the Maison, according to the fashion house. The dress required 675 hours of craftsmanship, with a whopping 14,000 safety pins.
Cyrus, 31, who won her first and second Grammy Awards last night for Best Solo Performance and Record of the Year, changed her outfit again to perform “Flowers” and pulled from the archives of legendary costume designer Bob Mackie for the look.
She dazzled in a hand-beaded silk chiffon covered with silver and crystal rhinestones plus some colored sequins from Mackie’s 2002 ‘To Broadway With Love’ collection inspired by the musical, "Sweet Charity."
It was only a few weeks ago on Jan. 19, Dolly Parton's birthday of all days, when Bob Mackie's team went to Cyrus's Hollywood Hills home to fit her in the dress. It fit like a glove.
"Nothing had to be taken in. Most normal women cannot get into that dress. She is so beautifully toned," Bob Mackie shares with Inside Edition. "Everything fits her like a fashion model."
"It was like a match made in heaven right then and there. We moved a hook and eye in the back, quite honestly. That was the smallest alteration," Mackie's design director Joe McFate of 24 years tells Inside Edition Digital. "She did all of her choreography for me in front of the mirror. She's amazing."
To pick the dress, Mackie's team had gone back and forth with Miley's team looking at photographs from his collection.
"I'd been holding back that photograph because I thought this dress was a Miley Cyrus dress. So as soon as I sent her that picture, she's like, 'I have to have that dress,' McFate reveals. But for awhile, they couldn't find it. The dress had been stored in Mackie's large collection that dates back 60 years.
"You can imagine we were tearing our hair trying, well, I wasn't tearing any hair, but I was looking. And believe me, when we found that dress and got it on her, she was like a kid. She wanted that dress. As soon as she saw it, she's like, 'that's it.' And when a performer has that kind of reaction to clothes that they're going to be confident in it."
Backstage later that night, Cyrus was photographed in a black beaded fringe, lace bustier and pants, with a beaded fringe trim feather shrug. The ensemble was also from Bob Mackie’s 2002 ‘To Broadway With Love’ collection.
This isn’t the first time Miley Cyrus has worn Bob Mackie.
In 2002, she fashioned a Bob Mackie archival dress on stage for her NBC New Year’s Eve performance of “Midnight Sky.” The dress, a hand-painted, silk and silver iridescent beaded fringe dress, was also from his 2002 “To Broadway With Love” collection.
In 2021, she wore a Bob Mackie black sequin fringe dress alongside Pete Davidson for their promotional campaign leading up to hosting New Year's Eve Party LIVE in Miami — on NBC and Peacock TV.
"She's so polite and so respectful of Bob's history, so we fell in love with her right away," McFate adds of working with the singer.
Throughout his tenured career, Mackie has designed some of the most world-famous outfits for some of the most influential celebrities including Cher, Pink, Liza Minnelli, Diana Ross, Bernadette Peters and the entire costume collection on "The Carol Burnett Show." Don’t forget – he designed numerous "Barbie" outfits as well.
What is it that draws such icons to a Bob Mackie? Not even Bob knows.
"I haven't figured it out yet, although I think that I understand performers and I understand what they like when they walk out and the audience reacts a certain way," Mackie says.
Next up, Mackie's teaming up with Burnett again to style her for press events leading up to AppleTV+'s premiere of "Palm Royale."
A documentary about his life directed by Matthew Miele is expected to be released later this year.
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