Cher says donning ‘loin cloth’ outfit to Oscars for ‘Mask’ snub was her ‘f**k you’ moment to Academy
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Cher made a statement with her famous 1986 Oscars dress that got the entire Academy talking.
The 78-year-old musical diva recently recalled the events leading to one of the most iconic fashion moments, which she called an act of getting revenge on the Academy.
Cher looked back at her revenge moment while appearing in the documentary ‘Bob Mackie: Naked Illusion’, where the designer dished out how the showstopping creation came into existence.
Bob Mackie reveals 1986 Oscars dress happened because Cher was ‘pissed off’
Cher turned up for the biggest night of Hollywood in 1986 wearing a black "elaborate yet revealing” ensemble that stunned everyone.
She wore a black crisscrossed embellished bralette, a complementing low-rise black skirt with a side slit, and thigh-high boots. She completed her look with a matching black shawl and her voluminous feather headpiece, per People.
Mackie, who created the dress, meanwhile revealed that the jaw-dropping outfit came into existence because Cher was "pissed off".
Cher explained in the documentary, “Because I didn’t get nominated for a movie that everyone thought I would actually win ['Mask'], but I didn’t get nominated, and they thought I wasn’t serious.”
Citing the reason for dressing in such a daring manner in the black tie affair, the ‘Moonstruck’ actress shared, "I didn’t dress like a serious actress, and I had… my boyfriends were strange. So I decided, I had this idea in my mind.”
In Mackie’s retelling of the event, the designer recalled, "She said, ‘I’m giving out this award, and they haven’t seen me look like I used to look'."
“Because she had been making movies and these movies where she was playing kind of down and dirty characters,” explained the designer. “'Silkwood' and you know, she wasn’t glamorous, so they hadn’t seen her get all dressed up," he added.
He also subtly pointed out the difference between different types of dressing, as he noted for Cher "to get dressed up didn’t mean her putting on a pretty dress. It meant, you know, a good outfit. And I had my sketch pad, so I started drawing.”
“And I drew a little bit because I knew I probably wouldn’t see her for a month or so, so I had to get it all moving,” explained Mackie.
The 84-year-old designer further revealed that though they had very few sessions with each other, they went in for a dramatic creation including one with a “loin cloth.”
Cher recalled wanting "big feathers” in her ensemble, before adding, "I said, ‘I just want—,’ and he said, ‘Don’t say anything else.’ We had a short time with each other too.”
Mackie chimed in, reminiscing the history of the creation, “I said, ‘Should it have a loin cloth?’ And she said, ‘Ooh yeah, I want a loin cloth.’ ”
Needless to say, Cher was left highly impressed with the dress and the reactions it elicited from the Hollywood elite.
Cher says it was her ‘f*** you’ moment to the Academy
Further into the conversation, Cher not only shared the background story of the dress but also how celebrities present during the ceremony had reacted to it.
Recalling her exchange with Hollywood veteran Jane Fonda, 86, Cher shared, "I was coming around and Jane Fonda was coming around, and she looked at me and said, ‘Cher, please wait until I get back to my seat, okay, before you come out. Please, I can’t wait. I want to see everybody’s reaction.’”
The ‘Strong Enough’ singer - known for her pioneering fashion sense - further added, "And I walked out and I said, ‘As you can see, I did receive my academy booklet on how to dress like a serious actress.’”
Not only was she able to stun Hollywood with her daring dress but Cher also declared her revenge on the Academy was complete, as she recalled, “And it was kind of my, you know, my you-know-what moment... My ‘f**k you’ moment to the Academy because, you know, all you have to judge me on is my work, not my life.”
While Cher was gleaming in the dress, everyone was not that pleased with the result. Mackie revealed that when Fonda introduced her to present the award for best supporting actor, “people were horrified".
He shared, “When she first appeared at the Oscars with her big mohawk and her bare midriff, giving an award to ['Cocoon' star] Don Ameche, people were horrified. Like, ‘That’s not fashion.’ They were just horrified."
Nevertheless, the ‘Proud Mary’ songstress went on with her charisma and pulled off the daring outfit confidently. The Academy too, probably took a note of it, as she was awarded the Best Actress Oscar for ‘Moonstruck’ two years later in 1988.
