Barbra Streisand wore this slinky black satin gown, designed by Bob Mackie and Ray Aghayan, in Funny Lady (1975). The costume was one of the forty looks that the two created for the film, which earned them an Oscar nomination for Best Costume Design at the 1976 Academy Awards.
The costume appears during the scene in which Fanny is sitting in her dressing room, recovering from the shock of discovering that Nicky Arnstein has remarried. In this scene the majority of the gown is concealed beneath a black fox-fur stole, accented with an Art Deco brooch and draped over Fanny’s left shoulder.
The fur remains in place as she exits her dressing room, but when the camera cuts to a long shot of the stage, the stole is moved to her left arm. This created an incredible surprise reveal of the front of the gown that made the moment even more striking. Streisand proceeds to deliver an electric, rage-fueled performance of How Lucky Can You Get that is nothing short of a masterclass in musical theatre song delivery. Mackie reportedly told the press that he thought Streisand had one of the most gorgeous chests in show business, and consequently designed many of her Funny Lady costumes to flatter her bust line, something this gown does particularly beautifully.
Made from fluid black silk satin, this costume draped Streisand’s frame to perfection. It not only created a statuesque silhouette but also gave her the illusion of added height. The gown featured a center seam, with princess seams extending from the bust darts through the waistline. Halter-style straps frame the plunging V-neckline, which is trimmed with large, close chain crystals and framed with glass bugle beads. The sparkling trim hung loosely from the waist, adding an extra element of movement to the gown, and ended in two glistening tassels.
The back of this gown is even more impressive than the front.
Cut on the bias, the gown features multiple geometric panels, which allow it to maintain its precise, figure-hugging fit while allowing Streisand room to breathe and move in the scene. Four chains of dazzling crystal trim swoop down the back, drawing the eye to the dramatic plunging deep-V.
Mackie and Aghayan’s design was inspired by the plunging, open-back gowns that were a signature of 1930s fashion. These styles became popular around 1929 and were extremely fashionable by the early 1930s. Prior to this, in the 1920s, drop-waist silhouettes had dominated women’s fashion, and many were excited to celebrate the return of the natural waist and freedom to show more skin. Evening gowns like Fanny’s became increasingly figure-hugging during this period, while daywear took on a more romantic and feminine character.
Mackie and Aghayan ended up losing the Academy Award to Ulla-Britt Soderlund and Milena Canonero’s costume design for Stanley Kubrick’s Barry Lyndon. The show that year featured a segment with brief showcases of the costume design from each nominated film, which can be seen below.
Bob Mackie discussed the differences between working as a couturier and working as a costume designer in a March 2020 interview with Elyssa Goodman for CR Fashion Book. He explained, “When you’re designing costumes, you’re designing for a particular person or character. It has to be right for that character. It also has to telegraph where she is, who she is, and what’s going to happen. You can’t just put anything lovely on her. If it’s a performer who’s going to sing and dance, people have to look at her and say, ‘Yes, that’s her!’ when she walks out on that stage. That’s what she stands for, that’s who she is! ‘Doesn’t she look amazing?’ A fashion designer will do a beautiful dress, and 20 different, 30 different, 50 different women could have that dress. I always like it when I know who’s wearing the clothes. It’s a couture attitude where you make it right for that woman. In real couture, you may put sleeves on clothes, shorten things, lower or raise necklines so it’s absolutely made for that woman. A lot of fashion designers just do clothes; they do things they love, and they have a style. As a costume designer, you have to change. I’ve designed for women who’ve had vastly different personalities and bodies, and it’s important that they not lose that vision because they have an image with their public.”
Mackie’s philosophy on costume design shines throughout Funny Lady. His costumes capture the spirit of Fanny Brice while simultaneously celebrating Barbra Streisand, the star behind the character. Rather than simply dressing Fanny, Mackie created looks that flattered Streisand’s figure, complemented her personal style, and amplified the glamour and theatricality of her larger-than-life persona.
Fun facts about this look:
Jennifer Aniston wore a gown inspired by it when she transformed into Streisand for the September 2010 issue of Harper’s Bazaar.
The gown has never been displayed in a fashion exhibition or sold at auction. It has, however, been rumored that Streisand wore it to the 1974 Academy Awards, where she was nominated for Best Actress for The Way We Were, while Funny Lady was still in pre-production. In a 2013 article for TheWrap, Steve Pond reported that, according to Academy president Walter Mirisch, Streisand had agreed to attend the ceremony but did not want anyone to know she was there unless she won. She ultimately lost the award to Glenda Jackson for A Touch of Class and, as Pond noted, “spent the entire ceremony backstage.”
