Cher, the Goddess of Pop, has too many memorable style moments to her name in her six-decade-long career.

Her fashion history includes so many sequin-drenched, cut-out, naval-grazing, boundary-breaking dresses including that naked dress that is still being channelled and copied copiously on red carpets today.

Her iconic costumes are an essential and irreplaceable part of her entertainment.

But, one of her most memorable and iconic red carpet looks of all time, the showgirl-inspired 'Mohawk dress', has a tantalising history of its own.

While she has said it made her feel like a queen, it was actually her way of hitting back at The Academy for not taking her seriously as an actress, she told Vogue.

Cher was snubbed by The Academy for her role in 1985's Mask. The film followed the real life and early death of Rocky Dennis, a teen suffering with severe facial deformities.

Cher played his protective mother Rusty and gave a searingly emotive performance as she fought for his right to be respected while grappling with her own battle against drug addiction.

Cher had just won the coveted Best Actress award at the Cannes Film Festival and had pulled in a Golden Globes nomination but she, and the world, were shocked that she did not receive an Academy Award nod.

So, she enlisted the help of her right-hand man in fashion, her lifelong friend and personal designer Bob Mackie to give a sartorial two fingers to The Academy with a scantily clad and equally scandalous Oscar's look.

Of course, by this time, Bob Mackie had already amassed a serious following by creating some of the red carpet’s most memorable moments, many of which fell into the 'barely there' category.

He pulled all the punches with Cher's 1986 Oscar's look - it was a show-stopping embellished two-piece extravaganza.

The main event was a jewel-encrusted bralette with a matching low-rise skirt, which Cher then paired with thigh-high black boots and an embroidered shawl.

That would have been enough to get people talking but it was the enormous feathered headdress that really caused a commotion.

The look has famously landed both Cher and Bob Mackie on copious Worst Dressed Lists, but it was all about the statement she made.

Cher's look smiled in the face of everything Oscar's fashion was, and is still, about - poised and perfect elegance and glamour.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Bob Mackie explained that the genesis of the look followed a meeting at Tom Cruise’s apartment in New York (Cher’s then-boyfriend).

'She’d been in a lot of movies where she was wearing jeans and T-shirts and hadn’t worn a getup in a long time. I said, "But you can’t wear that to the Academy Awards". She said, "I don’t care". I don’t want to look like a housewife in an evening gown.’

Well, she certainly went for it and pulled it off in a way only she could.

On the big night, Cher took to the stage to announce the nominees for Best Supporting Actor, which would go to Don Ameche for Cocoon.

With a dazzling smile, she chuckled to herself before beginning her speech, making her intentions rightly known: 'As you can see, I did receive my Academy booklet on how to dress like a serious actress.'

Touché, Cher. Touché.

Love it or loathe it, the outfit is undoubtedly one of the most famous Oscar dresses of all-time.

Cher got her real revenge two years later when she scooped Best Actress for her role in Moonstruck.

She who dares wins, right?