The moment Cher dressed up as the ultimate ‘revenge’ star

Since then, the phrase “revenge dress” has been increasingly used in celebrity culture. Revenge dresses, as the mainstream understands them, are usually flirty, revealing, and potentially a bit revealing — a reminder of what an ex is missing. In 2014, Rihanna arrived at the CFDA Fashion Awards in a sheer Adam Selman dress that was allegedly a message to her boyfriend, Drake. As she told French Vogue a few years later: “Every time a man cheats on you or treats you badly, you need a revenge dress. Every woman knows that.” In the case of model Bella Hadid at the 2017 Met Gala, it was a retaliatory stocking, which she wore to an event also attended by her ex-boyfriend The Weeknd and his then-new girlfriend Selena Gomez.

Most recently, post-split Nicole Kidman appeared radiant in a strapless black Chanel dress by Matteo Blazzi at Vogue World 2025. Much has been made of the different ensembles worn by pop star Lily Allen in the wake of her chart-breaking revenge album, West End Girl, which was written directly 10 days after her split from Stranger Things star David Harbour. But arguably her most striking look channeling the vindictive spirit of clothing was the barely-there Colleen Allen design she wore to the 2025 CFDA Awards.

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But for all the joy the public can feel at seeing an oppressed woman dressed to the nines, the phrase “revenge dressing”—usually used in relation to women who live up to the prevailing beauty ideals of the straight male gaze—has its detractors. It’s all about how you appear to an external source, not how you feel inside. In an interview with The Guardian in 2021, Dr Angela McRobbie, professor of communications at Goldsmiths College, University of London, said: “It’s a very conservative idea. It means that a young woman who has been cheated on can think of no other way to punish her untrustworthy lover than through extravagant displays of fashion and body.”

Confusing expectations

However, in Cher’s case, revenge was more often against society’s expectations than any man’s expectations. Her bare stomach was a form of revenge, throughout most of her previous career, thanks in large part to her famous working relationship with Mackey. Mackie, who has also worked with Tina Turner, Madonna, Bette Midler, Diana Ross and Elton John, first met Cher on the set of The Carol Burnett Show in 1967. But as he told The New Yorker: “People didn’t start getting excited until later, when we started showing a little bit of midriff.”