If anyone knows how to dress for a theme, it’s Zendaya. So, when she was tasked with inducting Cher into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame over the weekend, it was only natural she would pick out a vintage stunner from one the singer’s go-to designers: Bob Mackie.
Zendaya channeled the music icon by picking out a nude illusion dress from Mackie’s fall 2001 collection. The floor-length gown, paired with an angelic white coat, was slit up to the star’s hips and featured slinky criss-cross straps across the neckline and her toned midsection. Though Cher hasn’t worn this exact Mackie number, ab-sculpting dresses like this were her de-facto uniform back in the ’70s and ’80s. It was only natural that Zendaya and her stylist Law Roach would choose an archival Mackie look for such an occasion.
The American designer outfitted Cher in perhaps the most memorable looks of her entire career—from her 1986 Oscars dress to the chain-mail get up she wore on the cover of her 1979 album, Prisoner. “She said, ‘Stay there so nobody will see anything.’” Mackie recalled to W of the cover’s photo shoot, adding “I said, ‘What do you mean, see anything? You’re naked!’”
In fact, Zendaya’s dress appeared to be a direct homage to a Mackie look Cher wore during a photo shoot in 1972. Both pieces were marked by the same strappy detailing and all-over sequins, though Zendaya’s was taken up a notch with her gold-trimmed coat.
While the runway version of Zendaya’s dress was paired with a glittering headpiece, the actor waded even further into Cher territory with her hair and makeup choices. She rocked Cher’s favorite ‘do: pin-straight black hair all the way down to her waist.
Head to toe, it was giving Cher.
