Cher’s ‘naked dress’ Met Gala moment goes from scandal to style inspiration

Cher has cheekily admitted she “upset” a fair few people when she stepped out in a daring “naked” Met Gala dress 52 years ago, but now, she says, the world has finally caught up with her.

The 79-year-old icon returned to the star-studded fashion spectacular in New York City on Monday, marking her first appearance in a decade, and used the moment to reflect on her headline-making debut in 1974.

Back then, Cher stunned in a sheer Bob Mackie gown that left very little to the imagination and caused quite the scandal.

Speaking on Vogue’s Met Gala livestream with La La Anthony, she laughed: “At the first Met Gala I was naked, and so people were upset about it. 

But now people wouldn’t even give it a thought… I was real skinny so there was nothing really showing. Well, that’s not exactly true, but it wasn’t much!”

Despite the backlash at the time, Cher says she’s thrilled to see today’s stars embracing fearless fashion choices without fear of judgement.

“I love to see people expressing themselves,” she added warmly. 

“It gives me ideas and encouragement about the generations that are coming up.”

For this year’s “Costume Art” theme, Burlesque actress paid tribute to her iconic look in a custom Burberry creation designed by Daniel Lee alongside stylist Patti Wilson. 

The outfit featured a black silk-tulle twisted gown, a leather corset, and a crystal-embellished cropped jacket – a modern nod to her original show-stopping moment.

Designer Bob Mackie has previously recalled the 1974 reaction as absolute chaos, saying photographers “came out of the shadows” and the press went wild, declaring she was “just naked at the Metropolitan”.

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