Billboard Music Awards 2017: Cher Wore Two Sparkly Looks from Her Own Archive to Accept Icon Award
On Sunday night, Cher lived up to her status as a living legend while accepting the aptly titled Icon Award at the 2017 Billboard Music Awards in Las Vegas. The superstar didn’t even bother buying new outfits for the occasion either, instead choosing to dig through her own closet. She ended up choosing two extra sparkly outfits — and two wildly different wigs — to perform two of her biggest hits.
The 71-year-old powerhouse first took the stage to perform 1998’s dance-pop hit “Believe” in a head-to-toe silver getup. She wore a short robe made out of nothing but silvery strands of jewels, which revealed a nude bra lined with matching metallic strands and covered with heart-shaped pasties. Cher accessorized with silver ankle boots and a platinum wig with magenta tips. The pop star previously wore this über-glamorous outfit on her Dressed to Kill U.S. tour in 2014, according to the Huffington Post.
Then, after singer Gwen Stefani introduced Cher, detailing her rise to fame and lasting impact on the music industry, the “Goddess of Pop” took the stage once again, this time to perform “If I Could Turn Back Time.” She went digging through her archives yet again for her second look, wearing a rendition of the iconic black jumpsuit she wore in the music video for the 1989 song. Cher swapped her platinum locks for a huge, black curly wig and wore a sheer black jumpsuit dotted with rhinestones over black lingerie that looked like a replica of the one she wore at the 2010 VMAs. She completed the look with a black leather jacket and thigh-high black leather boots.
Cher gave a heartfelt speech as she accepted the award from Stefani. “I wanted to do what I do since I was four years old, and I’ve been doing it for 53 years,” she said. “I want to thank my mom because when I was really young, my mom said, ‘You’re not gonna be the smartest, you’re not gonna be the prettiest, you’re not gonna be the most talented, but you’re gonna be special.'” She added, “I’ve had so much help. I just have to say that I think that luck has so much to do with my success. I think it was mostly luck and a little bit of something thrown in.”
Cher’s Style: From Sonny to Marc
In the early ‘60s, Cher and her husband and musical partner Sonny Bono were instant hits, and their fashion sense reflected their success. Here in 1967, the singer shows off her long black hair and signature bangs in a loose-fitting lace dress, accessorized by chunky rings and bare feet.
Photo by Arnaud de Rosnay / Courtesy of CNP Montrose.
Cher sports a white halter-top, bell-bottoms, and feathered hat while promoting her CBS variety show “The Sonny & Cher Comedy Show” in 1972. Photo by CBS Photo Archive / Getty Images.
In this now-iconic 1974 photo, Cher steals the show at an L.A. event with a wide felt hat and purple eye shadow, nails, and lips.
Photo by Michael Ochs Archives / Getty Images.
Having grown out her iconic bangs, Cher takes to a 1975 party at L.A.’s Greenhouse in a beaded halter-top, loose wide-leg pants, and long metallic nails.
Photo by Frye Vincent / Courtesy of CNP Montrose.
Marc Jacobs is not Cher’s first designer romance. Beginning in 1967, Bob Mackie created some of the performer’s most memorable looks (including a sheer dress at the 1974 Met Gala that Kim Kardashian cited as inspiration this year). Here, the singer and actress shows off one of his metallic designs in a 1978 photo shoot.
Photo by Harry Langdon / Getty Images.
Cher dons another Mackie creation at the 1986 Academy Awards.
Photo by Julian Wasser / Liason.
Even Cher’s off-duty styles—like this glitzy jean-and-t-shirt combo in 1987—deserve applause.
Photo by Anthony Barboza / Getty Images.
The singer ups the ante for her 1999-2000 “Do You Believe?” tour, which coincided with her 22nd album, “Believe.”
Photo by Peter Still / Redferns.
Though longtime collaborator Mackie was unable to design the costumes for the first leg of Cher’s 2014 “Dressed to Kill” tour, that didn’t stop the star from going over the top. Working with designer Hugh Durrant, the star created 14 looks, including this beaded jumpsuit, moto jacket, and oversized hair ensemble.
Photo by Kevin Mazur / WireImage.
Just as he did with Jessica Lange in 2014, Marc Jacobs courts his soon-to-be-campaign star at the 2015 Met Gala. And the rest, as they say, is history.
Photo by Sherly Rabbani and Josephine Solimene.
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