Cher, 80, seen for first time since her heartbreaking tribute to 'sweet Prince' designer pal Bob Mackie who died at 87

Cher has been seen for the first time since her fashion designer friend Bob Mackie died of pneumonia at the age of 87 on Monday morning in Palm Springs, California.

The 80-year-old singer was spotted at the airport with a female friend - author Dr Janet Zand - as they caught a flight to New York City on Monday afternoon, just hours after Mackie's passing.

The Turn Back Time singer wore black sunglasses with her dark hair down as she modeled an all-black outfit from designer Chrome Hearts with white sneakers. The Moonstruck actress was carrying a coat as helpers pushed her luggage to the terminal.

Earlier in the day Cher shared a tribute on X to her pal: 'My dear Bob has gone up to heaven. Knowing him, he’s bringing Sequins, Beads, & his sketch pad. Good nite sweet Prince.'

Cher worked closely with Mackie during her early years of fame when she was on The Sonny And Cher Show. 

Mackie was also responsible for some of her racier showgirl-style red carpet looks like her 1986 Oscar outfit that flashed her tummy.

One of Mackie's first jobs was as the costumer for The Carol Burnett Show, which ran from 1967 to 1978. 

Mackie’s most famous creation for that show was his 'curtain rod' Scarlett O’Hara dress from Gone With the Wind. Burnett was a hit in that sketch which was titled Went With the Wind!

'He saved me and many a comedy sketch by coming up with wonderfully funny character outfits that not only enhanced the writing but many times gave me the clue as to what the character I was playing was all about,' Burnett wrote in the introduction to Frank DeCaro’s 1999 book, Unmistakably Mackie.

The Carol Burnett Show is where Mackie met Cher, and they went on to have a very fruitful working relationship.

He was hired to be the costume designer for her show The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour, which premiered in 1971.

In 1986, she wore one of his very risqué gowns to the Oscars when she presented the best supporting actor Oscar to Don Ameche.

The look combined black stretch pants, a bejeweled loincloth, knee-high boots, a black chain-link top and a large feathered Mohawk headdress. 

'Critics said, "Well, that's not fashion,"' he remembered. 'Well, it wasn't meant to be fashion. She wanted to do it just because it was fun.'

Mackie was a 32-time Emmy nominee as well as a three-time Oscar nominee for his work on the movies Lady Sings the Blues, Funny Lady and Pennies From Heaven.

Mackie also designed costumes for numerous theatrical productions.

He worked on Lorelei starring Carol Channing, On the Town with Bernadette Peters, and Platinum starring Alexis Smith.

The designer added his magical touch on Moon Over Buffalo and Putting It Together with Burnett.

He also said he loved collaborating with Liza Minnelli on Minnelli Starring Liza. 

His influence can be seen in the styles of Kendall Jenner and Bella Hadid. His archival pieces are worn today by the likes of Anya Taylor-Joy, Miley Cyrus and Zendaya, the latter who wore a Mackie gown to honor Cher at the induction ceremony.

When Taylor Swift wanted to look like a showgirl on the cover of her 2025 album she turned to some Mackie originals.

Mackie, who was inducted into the Television Academy Hall of Fame in 2002, loved for his clients to stand out.

'You want the audience to be surprised when they walk out,' he said. 'You want them to swoon or ooh or ahh or clap — all of that is important, it’s part of the business of show business. It’s exciting. 

'If a woman is going to do an hour and a half onstage and she’s just in a little black dress, she’d better be Judy Garland. You’re there to see her, you’re not just listening. So there needs to be something visual.'

He also said: 'A woman who wears my clothes is not afraid to be noticed.'

Mackie had some retail success in the 1980s and ´90s, launching a ready-to-wear line in 1982 that would ultimately land on the runway at New York Fashion Week, and he was an early partner of QVC. 

Mackie was married to showgirl Lulu Porter from 1960 until 1963; their son, makeup artist Robert Gordon Mackie Jr., died from AIDS at age 35. Costume designer Ray Aghayan, his longtime partner, died in 2011.