Why Cher’s Iconic 1989 Music Video Look “Embarrassed” Designer Bob Mackie…..Read More

The “seat belt” outfit was almost entirely sheer.

Cher may be one of the most iconic dressers in her Hollywood, but not all of her looks have been hits from the get-go. Consider her sheer bodysuit from the 1989 “If I Could Turn Back Time” music video. Brought to life by the legendary Bob Mackie, the designer now admits he told Cher he was “embarrassed” by the look.

Please don’t tell anyone that I designed this. Don’t let anyone know this. I’m embarrassed,’” he said, recounting their conversation for the documentary Bob Mackie: Naked Illusion. “And she was fine about it. Now she admits that, no, it wasn’t so good.”

The ensemble, dubbed the “seat belt” outfit, consisted of a completely sheer bodysuit with a single black strip of opaque fabric that went into a V-shape from Cher’s shoulders to her underside. She paired the onesie with an oversized black leather jacket, a statement belt, and huge ’80s hair.

We put a lot of wild, sexy clothes on [Cher] at different times,” Mackie said in an interview with Yahoo Entertainment. “Sometimes I’d say, ‘Well, you can’t wear that for this’ … an award show or whatever, and she would [disappointedly reply], OK.’ But she wanted to wear that. Bicycle pants were in, but see-through bicycle pants are really scary.”

In a world where naked dresses are a dime a dozen, sheer bicycle pants may not be considered so “scary” today. At the time, however, the music video was banned from playing on MTV until after 9 p.m., and caused additional controversy for its backup dancers, who were actually sailors aboard a real Navy ship, the USS Missouri.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, the music video wasn’t the only time Cher turned heads over the course of her long career. Three years prior to the making of “If I Could Turn Back Time,” Cher arrived at the Oscars in a jewel-encrusted bra top, a low-rise skirt, and a massive feathered headpiece. The look, of course, was courtesy of Mackie.

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 ‘fuck you’ moment to the Academy because, you know, all you have to judge me on is my work, not my life.”