Cher 1974 Met Gala sheer feathered gown Bob Mackie, Digi Mart USA News: A Grazia Magazine article reports that sheer gowns dominated the Metropolitan Museum steps at this year’s Met Gala, while Cher, who returned to the event at 79 after an 11-year break, is credited with helping popularise the red carpet naked dress.
According to the article, Cher worked with designer Bob Mackie from the early 1970s, when the pair collaborated on The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour. For the 1974 Met Gala, which had a Hollywood glamour theme, Cher wore a sheer gown covered in silver beading, with white feathers at the sleeves and hem.
The article says the look was considered shockingly provocative at the time, yet Cher went on to wear a series of sheer designs, earning the nickname Queen of the Naked Dress. It cites a towering black Mackie headdress and beaded midriff-baring ensemble at the 1986 Academy Awards, and a sheer black Mackie gown when she accepted her Best Actress Oscar for Moonstruck in 1988.
The article also notes a 1989 music video, If I Could Turn Back Time, filmed aboard a battleship in a sheer black Mackie bodysuit, which it says MTV reportedly aired only late at night. It further describes Cher’s custom Burberry by Daniel Lee look at this year’s Met Gala, and links her influence to sheer looks by Rihanna and Beyoncé.
