A Timeline Of Cher’s Vintage Oscars Looks That Will Grace Moodboards Forever
“I was dressing to go to work – presenting is work,” Cher once said of her often outrageous, always scene-stealing outfits worn to the Oscars.
As her career morphed and expanded to see her win an Academy Award herself (she walked away with Best Actress for Moonstruck in 1988), the star dressed up for the occasion with a flair that only Cher can. She has since admitted feeling that the Academy didn’t like her, and her arguably ‘showgirl’ orientated aesthetic, saying: “They hated the way I dressed and I had young boyfriends so they thought I wasn’t serious. So I came out and said, ‘as you can see I got my handbook on how to dress like a serious actress’.”
Read more: Oscars 2024 Red Carpet
Cher’s Academy Awards outfits don’t just tell the story of a life-long commitment to sheer textures and twinkling sparkle, but are an homage to her great friend and frequent collaborator, Bob Mackie, too. Since they met in the ’70s, Cher has almost exclusively worn his designs to the Awards, whether presenting or anticipating a win.
The most remarkable thing about the now 74-year-old star’s Oscars legacy? She hasn’t attended the Academy Awards since the year 2000. Since then a swathe of ingenues, clearly inspired by her daring approach, continue to do the Oscars red carpet work on Cher’s behalf. Note Zendaya in luminous yellow Valentino, slashed at the midriff and reminiscent of Cher’s ’70s look, and Andra Day’s close-cut Vera Wang chainmail dress at the 2021 ceremony.
While we might have to wait at least another year – and let’s hope not another two decades – for Cher to return to the Academy Awards red carpet, her sartorial legacy will forever remain as part of the ceremony’s history, whether the Academy approves or not.
Below, British Vogue takes a look at Cher’s winning moments at the Oscars in closer detail.
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Cher’s Academy Awards debut took place on 10 April 1968, when the star was 22. Arriving at the ceremony with her husband, Sonny Bono, she wore a bubblegum empire-line gown with an elaborate braided hairstyle that had that same pink shade plaited through.
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Five years later and Sonny and Cher were back on the Oscars red carpet. Cher wore an embroidered gold two-piece by Bob Mackie to accentuate her bronzed torso, which she wore with gold hoop earrings and ling nails painted shocking pink.
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At the time of the 1974 Oscars, Cher was in the midst of promo for her self-titled album and had recently separated from Bono. Calling on Mackie once again, she wore a floral sarong-style dress skirt with scant wrap-tie bralette and matching floral corsages around the neck and pinned up into the hair. The colour palette was also incorporated into her beauty look by way of lilac eyeshadow and extra-long lashes.
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The new decade and Cher’s foray into acting made way for an altered approach to Oscars-dressing, with Cher calling on Mackie for a long-sleeved white gown that pleased the magpies with its light-catching iridescence and wholly sheer appearance. Her beauty notes shifted too, with Cher embracing a typically ’80s perm and bold eyeshadow.
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The 1984 Academy Awards was the first that hosted a nominated Cher, who was recognised for her performance as Meryl Streep’s roommate in Silkwood. Arriving with boyfriend Val Kilmer, the Best Supporting Actress nominee wore a nude gown — by Mackie, of course — which was paired with equally dazzling diamond earrings and a taffeta stole.
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By 1986, Cher was hitting her Hollywood stride with several roles released and in production. The Academy called on the star to present at the ceremony and she happily obliged wearing a showgirl-inspired dazzling black outfit by Mackie, once again. Since, Cher has declared this look one of her “favourite, favourite” outfits.
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Cher won the best actress statuette wearing a Bob Mackie embellished dress for her role in Moonstruck. The dress came decorated with long-length earrings, which she lost one of on the journey of hugs and well wishes as she walked up the stairs to accept the award. “My favourite part about it was the stole,” she has since admitted.
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A year later, hand-in-hand with boyfriend Rob Camilletti, Cher walked the Oscars red carpet wearing a fringe-trim black minidress with Valentino ankle-strap heels and wore her hair in a permed style. She handed out the statue for Best Picture to Rain Man.
