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Cher — The Headdress
CNE Grandstand, Toronto — September 1, 1973
Captured by John Rowlands during Cher's performance at the Canadian National Exhibition Grandstand in Toronto, this striking photograph presents Cher at a decisive moment in her transformation into a singular cultural and fashion icon. Wearing a towering white feathered headdress designed by Bob Mackie, she appears poised, commanding, and self-possessed. Hand-signed by John Rowlands, strictly limited edition.
The Full Story
The Moment
Captured by John Rowlands during Cher's September 1, 1973 performance at the Canadian National Exhibition Grandstand in Toronto, this striking photograph presents Cher at a decisive moment in her transformation into a singular cultural and fashion icon. Wearing a towering white feathered headdress designed by Bob Mackie, she appears poised, commanding, and self-possessed. The image freezes a shift in scale and intent: pop performance evolving into theatrical spectacle. In this moment, Cher is not simply performing—she is actively constructing a visual identity that would soon redefine stage presence and celebrity.
The Heritage
This photograph holds significance for both music and fashion history. Cher's collaboration with Bob Mackie would go on to reshape performance costume for decades, influencing pop, drag, and haute couture alike. While her 1973 hit "Half-Breed" and contemporaneous media narratives sometimes led to assumptions about Native American identity, later clarification—including Cher's own accounts—confirms that any Indigenous ancestry referenced in family lore was fractional and did not play a formative role in her life or artistic development. Her father was Armenian-American, and her maternal heritage traces to Irish, English, German, and Dutch roots.
Seen here at an early point in the Cher–Mackie partnership, this Toronto performance documents the emergence of a visual language rooted not in heritage symbolism but in theatrical invention, self-authorship, and spectacle. It captures the genesis of an aesthetic that became inseparable from Cher's artistic persona—a convergence of music, fashion, and reinvention at its inception.
Editions & Dimensions
SMALL (16") — Edition 150
Paper Size: 18.66" × 19.33"
Image Area: 16" × 16"
MEDIUM (24") — Edition 100
Paper Size: 28" × 29"
Image Area: 24" × 24"
LARGE (33") — Edition 50
Paper Size: 38.5" × 40.13"
Image Area: 33" × 33"
Provenance & Release
Previously unreleased from the John Rowlands archive. Hand-signed by John Rowlands, strictly limited and hand-numbered. Museum-grade scanning and archival pigment printing on heavyweight, acid-free fine art paper.
CNE Grandstand, Toronto — September 1, 1973
Captured by John Rowlands during Cher's performance at the Canadian National Exhibition Grandstand in Toronto, this striking photograph presents Cher at a decisive moment in her transformation into a singular cultural and fashion icon. Wearing a towering white feathered headdress designed by Bob Mackie, she appears poised, commanding, and self-possessed. Hand-signed by John Rowlands, strictly limited edition.
The Full Story
The Moment
Captured by John Rowlands during Cher's September 1, 1973 performance at the Canadian National Exhibition Grandstand in Toronto, this striking photograph presents Cher at a decisive moment in her transformation into a singular cultural and fashion icon. Wearing a towering white feathered headdress designed by Bob Mackie, she appears poised, commanding, and self-possessed. The image freezes a shift in scale and intent: pop performance evolving into theatrical spectacle. In this moment, Cher is not simply performing—she is actively constructing a visual identity that would soon redefine stage presence and celebrity.
The Heritage
This photograph holds significance for both music and fashion history. Cher's collaboration with Bob Mackie would go on to reshape performance costume for decades, influencing pop, drag, and haute couture alike. While her 1973 hit "Half-Breed" and contemporaneous media narratives sometimes led to assumptions about Native American identity, later clarification—including Cher's own accounts—confirms that any Indigenous ancestry referenced in family lore was fractional and did not play a formative role in her life or artistic development. Her father was Armenian-American, and her maternal heritage traces to Irish, English, German, and Dutch roots.
Seen here at an early point in the Cher–Mackie partnership, this Toronto performance documents the emergence of a visual language rooted not in heritage symbolism but in theatrical invention, self-authorship, and spectacle. It captures the genesis of an aesthetic that became inseparable from Cher's artistic persona—a convergence of music, fashion, and reinvention at its inception.
Editions & Dimensions
SMALL (16") — Edition 150
Paper Size: 18.66" × 19.33"
Image Area: 16" × 16"
MEDIUM (24") — Edition 100
Paper Size: 28" × 29"
Image Area: 24" × 24"
LARGE (33") — Edition 50
Paper Size: 38.5" × 40.13"
Image Area: 33" × 33"
Provenance & Release
Previously unreleased from the John Rowlands archive. Hand-signed by John Rowlands, strictly limited and hand-numbered. Museum-grade scanning and archival pigment printing on heavyweight, acid-free fine art paper.