She was snubbed for her role in 'Mask.'
Cher’s ab-baring outfit at the 1986 Oscars will go down as one of the most iconic red carpet looks in fashion history. But why exactly did the singer choose to wear such an outrageous ensemble to an event that is known for its glamorous designer gowns and prim-and-proper dresses? Well, it came down to one thing: “She was pissed off.”
In the documentary Bob Mackie: Naked Illusions, the music legend looked back on her outfit from that night, revealing that it was her “f— you” to the Academy after being snubbed for her role in the coming-of-age film Mask. “Because I didn’t get nominated for a movie that everyone thought I would actually win, but I didn’t get nominated, and they thought I wasn’t serious,” Cher explained her decision, per People.
She added, “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.”
Cher went straight to Mackie with her plan and he knew exactly how to execute. The Grammy-winner recalled wanting "big feathers," adding, "I said 'I just want —,' and he said, 'Don't say anything else.'" Meanwhile, Mackie remembers asking: ‘Should it have a loin cloth?’ And she said, ‘Ooh yeah, I want a loin cloth.’”
The final design included a black jewel-encrusted bra top with a low-rise skirt with slits on both sides and a massive feathered mohawk headpiece. Cher knew she accomplished what she set out to do when people started reacting to the outfit in real time.
"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,'" Cher recalled.
"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.’ And it was kind of my, you know, my you-know-what moment… My ‘f— you’ moment to the Academy because, you know, all you have to judge me on is my work, not my life.”
Apparently her plan paid off, and two years later, she won Best Actress for her movie Moonstruck in 1988.
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