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Cher Invented the Naked Dress. Fashion Is Still Copying Her.
At 79, Cher returned to the Met Gala this May - 52 years after the sheer gown she wore there changed red carpet fashion for good.
Sheer gowns dominated the Met Gala steps this past May, but one guest had been perfecting the look since before most of the other attendees were born. Cher, 79, made her return to the Met after an 11-year absence - and she brought the moment full circle in a way only she could.
The woman widely credited with creating the red carpet "naked dress" walked into the event that first made her notorious for it. And the fashion world, predictably, lost its mind.
Bob Mackie and the Dress That Started It All
The story traces back to designer Bob Mackie, Cher's longtime collaborator and creative partner. The two began working together on The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour in the early 1970s, and what followed was one of the most influential partnerships in fashion history.
In 1974, Cher arrived at the Met Gala in a Mackie creation: a sheer gown scattered with silver beading, white feathers at the sleeves and hem. The night's theme was Hollywood glamour. The dress redefined what that could mean. When Mackie asked what she wanted to wear, Cher told him simply: "the dress with the feathers." He later recalled the exchange in the documentary Bob Mackie: Naked Illusion.
The look was considered shockingly provocative at the time. Cher kept going anyway.
A Career Built on Daring
The 1974 Met gown was just the beginning. Cher earned the nickname Queen of the Naked Dress by committing to the aesthetic across decades, stages, and award ceremonies:
- 1986 Academy Awards: A towering black Mackie headdress paired with a beaded, midriff-baring ensemble.
- 1988 Oscars: She accepted her Best Actress award for Moonstruck in a sheer black Mackie gown.
- 1989: Cher filmed the music video for If I Could Turn Back Time aboard a U.S. Navy battleship in a sheer black Mackie bodysuit. MTV reportedly restricted the video to late-night airings, which only made it more iconic.
Each appearance pushed what was acceptable on a red carpet a little further. Each one stuck.
This May's Met Moment
For her 2026 return, Cher wore a custom Burberry gown designed by Daniel Lee: semi-sheer black silk tulle over a leather corset, finished with a cropped jacket covered in black crystals. The look nodded clearly to her own history while staying entirely current.
She didn't need to explain the reference. Everyone already knew it.
The Legacy on Every Red Carpet
The DNA of that 1974 Mackie gown runs through decades of bold red carpet choices by other artists. Rihanna's crystal-covered Adam Selman dress at the 2014 CFDA Awards and Beyoncé's sheer Givenchy look at the 2015 Met Gala both owe something to what Cher established half a century earlier.
The sheer gown trend that swept this year's Met Gala didn't appear from nowhere. It has a clear origin point, and that origin point is currently 79 years old, still showing everyone how it's done.