Cher Talks Being a Style Icon (”It’s Fabulous!”) and Remembers Bob Mackie

These days, it’s nothing new to see a brand tap a buzzy A-lister for its new campaign. But for the new “Re/Icons” collection, releasing today, the outerwear label Moncler went all-in on legendary talent—indeed, icons—by enlisting none other than Cher, Grace Jones, and Jennie to model the new winter-ready pieces.

Given that the new drop features reimagined versions of Moncler’s most recognizable styles (including, yes, its signature puffer jackets), it only made sense for such an enduring list of celebrities to wear them. The campaign was shot by Gabriel Moses and features the one and only Cher wearing its sleek Verone puffer jacket in black, as well as the Himalaya jacket in white.

For Cher, the collaboration was a match made in heaven: Turns out, the legendary singer and style icon is a longtime wearer of Moncler’s ski-ready goods. “A long time ago, I had a house in Aspen,” she told Vogue over a phone interview last week. “I would be picking out things to wear, and I liked the simplicity and the cut [of Moncler pieces]. They’re simple but stylish.”

Below, read on for more as Vogue chatted more with Cher about winter fashion, why she still gets nervous for photo shoots, and whether any new music is in the works. (Hint: A collab is on the way, she teases.) Plus, the star remembers her dear friend Bob Mackie.

Vogue: Hi, Cher! It’s nice to talk to you—this is certainly not a normal workday. I’d love to start with what you thought about the Moncler pieces you wear in the campaign.

Cher: Well, first of all, black is my favorite color. So are cream and white, so they were perfect for me. I’m either crazy or… Well, I don’t know if I’m ever subtle. But I tend to go for black-and-white. You’d never see me in orange. I like the simplicity and the cut [of Moncler pieces]. They’re simple but stylish. My favorite one is a little black vest that I wear to death. I don’t want to get another one, because it’s my favorite one!

What was the vibe like on set?

I was nervous: I walked onto the set, and there were a million people. To walk onto a strange set with a bunch of strange people is a little bit difficult. It took me a minute to calm down! But the girls were fabulous. Gabriel [Moses, the photographer] was fabulous. It was really fun.

Do you play any music on set to get into fashion-diva mode?

We were going through it, and they were playing something that I had no idea what it was. I was like, “Guys, can you play some real music?” I asked for Stevie Wonder, and the girls behind me all started laughing. Luam [Keflezgy] was my choreographer, and Patti Wilson did all the adjustments. Patti has a great sense of humor—we’re similar in our OG status. We’ve been friends now for such a long time. Thank god they were there, because they made me feel a little bit more comfortable.

Is there anything you would have taken home from set?

Oh, yes. The skirt and top. I loved those, even though I almost killed myself, because the skirt was long and I kept [tripping].

I love your big fab sunglasses too.

Those were their sunglasses. They said I was going to get them, but I never did.

Oops!

I collect sunglasses. Always have. They’re a staple in my job—but before I had my job, I didn’t have the money to collect them.

Since you rock some fab puffers in the campaign, I was curious: What does Cher do in the wintertime?

Well, [I love] being together with my family and my friends—because I have a lot of friends. I usually get together with two of my best friends, Richard and Laurie Stark—they have Chrome Hearts—and hang out with the kids. We’ll go up to Aspen, or I also have friends in Europe and England. It usually just means being around people that you really love.

Does Cher ski?

Yeah, I ski—my kids ski.

Are you a winter activity kind of gal? Like, does Cher also snowshoe?

I’m not much of a planner. I’m more of a spur-of-the-moment kind of person. But I like going to buy a Christmas tree—just stuff that everyone does. I love skiing in Aspen.

Winter fashion can be tricky. What’s your secret for looking chic in the cold?

I’m cold no matter where I am. I’m the only person in my group that’s always cold. If I’m not warm, I’m just really not nice. So I layer. I have some boots that I always wear. This man makes them, and he actually named them after me: They’re called Cher Cowboy Boots. I have those boots in every color and material. Those are usually what I start with, and I go from there.

The campaign is called “Re/Icons.” You’re obviously an icon, and I’m curious why you think you have stayed so relevant throughout the years.

You know what? I have no idea. When I started this business—I was famous at 19—it never occurred to me that I would be famous. It never occurred to me that I would even get through the first album. I thought maybe I’d be famous for a minute—but not a hundred years. So for me, there’s nothing that you can do. I mean, yes, you can make a movie or make an album—but you can’t plan success. And luck has been such a huge part of it for me. [When I was younger,] I couldn’t get a job. I had no money when Sonny [Bono] and I broke up, so I went to New York, and sold all of my jewelry. I had nothing when I went there. I just took my kids and went. But I wanted to be an actress, and I eventually got a job. It was a play called Come Back to the Five and Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean.

I feel like you’re such an icon because you’ve also been a chameleon—you’ve tried so many different parts and characters over the years. You love switching it up.

I mean, switching doesn't make you an icon. But you have to be willing to push yourself into the uncomfortable zone—sometimes it works, and sometimes it’s a mistake. I think of myself as a bumper car: If you’re going in a direction and it doesn’t work, you can either give up or you can back up and try a different direction.

You’re also an enduring style icon, because you’ve had a fearless approach to dressing over the years. How do you feel when you’re labeled as a style icon?

I think it’s really fun. Sometimes it’s fabulous, and sometimes it’s so awful and ridiculous. When you take big jumps, you don’t know if you’re going to land on something. When I had Bob [Mackie] and the TV show, it was much easier. But when Sonny and I were wearing our bell-bottoms, people didn’t necessarily like us. I mean, kids did—parents didn’t! But it was what we were doing. We wore clothes to work that we lived in every day.

The fashion world is still mourning the loss of Bob Mackie, and you two had such a great relationship over the years. What will you remember most about him?

I just went to see him a month ago, and we hung out and talked about all the things we did together and the first time we saw each other. We had the best time. We were together all day long, and it was fun to reminisce, because our show was more like playing. It wasn’t very much like work, except for the time you had to put in—but the actual doing of the show was really like playing and pretending. I’d spend two hours with him every Wednesday night. He would come out, and we’d have about 11 dresses, and then we’d [pick] four of them—for the opening, the concert, my solo. He’d always have fabulous ones, and I was like, Oooh, ahhh. I was a poor kid, so it still hits me in a certain place. He also had a hysterical sense of humor, so we had so much fun. It was never like, Oh God, now I have to put on these clothes. We were friends, so it was always easy to have a good time.

Do you think he defined your now signature style?

Everyone used to tease Bob about me being his Barbie doll. I was a stick, so everything [on me] looked like a fashion model. Without Bob, I would certainly not be a fashion icon, because Bob really was so important in making me have my own look. I did other things on my own, but Bob was really the person that pushed me into those real glamour moments. When I started doing The Cher Show, I never knew what was going to happen when I threw off the cover I was wearing and marched down the runway—but everyone always seemed to clap and love it.

It’s impossible to pick a favorite Mackie moment, but do you have any standouts?

There was one we called The Dress. It was the dress I wore to my first Met Gala. I also wore it on the cover of Time magazine. But it wasn’t meant to be that [dress]. Bob, Vogue, and I were doing a decades [photo shoot] of dresses from the 1920s to 1970s. When we were going to the Met, I had no idea what to wear, and we were like, “Bob, what about this dress [from the shoot]?” What I didn’t realize is that most of the people were surprised, because it looks like you’re naked. You’re not—but it looks like it.

And now everyone is doing naked dressing on the red carpet!

I know. They’re a little late.

It’s funny you mention the Vogue shoot, because we recently revisited it. What do you remember from that shoot?

I remember every moment. With Bob’s clothes, you could wear them inside out: They were so beautifully made. Other people might have copied his dresses, but they didn’t create them as he did. Bob was a genius. When we were doing the [naked] dress, I remember coming in for a fitting, and I could see this little kitchen. This woman was taking things out of the refrigerator and putting them into the trash can. I had no idea what she was doing. So I was like, “Bob, who is that?” And he was like, “That’s Marlene Dietrich!” She brought the material that we were making the dress out of. The secret of the dress that people don’t know is that it was made out of a material that was illegal in America, called soufflé.

Can you think of any other moments in your career where you were ahead of the fashion curve, much like the naked dress?

There was another one that I loved, [my Bob Mackie headpiece at the 1986 Oscars]. It was an homage to the Mohawk tribe. I had the vision of it in my mind, and I told Bob, “This is what I see.” He was like, “Shall I push it to the wall?” I was like, “Absolutely.” I kept asking my boyfriend, Joshua Donen, and his father, Stanley Donen, if it was okay. I walked out in it, and I remember Josh taking a big gulp. Then, thank God, we walked into Stanley, because he said, “This is perfect.” Backstage, I ran into Jane [Fonda], and she said, “Wait—let me get to my chair, because I’ve got to see how the audience reacts.” One of my favorite actors, Don Ameche, won the Oscar that night, and I remember thinking, “Oh my God, this is awful,” because he won this great honor and I was eight feet tall in this outfit.

Talk about iconic. I’m going to end our time together (sadly) by asking about new music. Will we be getting any new material or songs anytime soon?

I’m about to make an album, but I’m also about to make a song—the craziest collab ever. I can’t talk about it, but it’s great. It’s a collab nobody would think about. But they wouldn’t think, That’s too crazy. [Editor’s note: Consider us hooked.]

This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.