Cher’s 1974 Met Gala gown is one of those looks that still shows up on best-dressed lists half a century later. Now we know it took an international smuggling operation to make it happen. In a new interview with Vogue following Bob Mackie’s death at 86 in September, Cher shared that the sheer embroidered mesh fabric for the dress, called soufflé, was illegal in America. Marlene Dietrich brought it into the country for Mackie.
Cher said the gown, which she wore to the 1974 Met Gala and still calls her favorite Mackie creation, was originally designed for a Vogue photo shoot that traced fashion from the 1920s through the 1970s. She remembered being at a fitting when Dietrich walked in, pulled the material from a refrigerator, and casually put it in a trash can. Cher had to ask Mackie what she was doing. That’s when she found out.
“Without Bob, I would certainly not be a fashion icon,”Cher told Vogue, adding that his clothes were so well made you could wear them inside out. After fifty years, that dress still stands as one of the most daring looks the Met Gala has ever seen. What’s the boldest red carpet look you can remember?
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Local Lawton
Local Lawton is a contributor to LocalBeat, covering local news and community stories.