() — Tina Turner died on May 24 at the age of 83, leaving an incredible musical legacy in rock and soul. But she was also known for her bold fashion sense: sequined or fringed minidresses that showed off her famously long legs; effortlessly cool button-down shirts and relaxed jeans; and flashy pantsuits, often accompanied by his trademark spiky streaked hair.
One of the looks Turner’s most repeated was the one that marked her comeback in the mid-1980s: the jean jacket, leather miniskirt, and black stilettos she wore while strutting through New York City in the music video for “What’s Love Got to Do with ItOther moments of commanding style have lived on in the collective memory, too, from the shimmering red sleeveless dress she wore to the 1985 Grammys to the black leather jumpsuit she sang in at the Super Bowl in 2000.
Over the years, Turner was the darling of designers like Giorgio Armani and Azzedine Alaïa, with the latter frequently dressing her for album covers, music videos, and red carpets.
Early in her career, she also worked with celebrity hairstylist Bob Mackie for her theatrical wardrobe and reunited with him decades later for his career 50th anniversary tour in 2008.
“You don’t find a Tina Turner very often who knows exactly how she wants to look and how she wants to move,” Mackie said to fashion site The Cut in 2021. “Sometimes you have to inspire them to do it, but I never had to inspire Tina Turner. She came already equipped.
Check out the singer’s memorable outfits.
Designer Bob Mackie created this ethereal stage outfit, with pleated lamé wings and fringe, for Tina Turner early in her career. (Credit: Harry Langdon/File Photos/Getty Images)
Turner in a blouse and tie while appearing on television in Los Angeles in 1984.
(Credit: Michael Ochs Files/Getty Images)
Beyoncé and Turner together on stage in shimmering silver ensembles at the 2008 Grammy Awards.
(Credit: Michael Caulfield/WireImage/Getty)
Among Turner’s famous short dresses was this lingerie dress from 1997.
(Credit: Tim Mosenfelder/Getty Images)
Turner backstage at a show at Radio City Music Hall in New York in 1993.
(Credit: Dave Hogan/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)
The artist loved edgy, skintight leather jumpsuits, like this one from 1997.
(Credit: Paul Natkin/File Photos/Getty Images)
Turner appeared on “Tina: The Tina Turner Musical” in New York in a shimmering see-through dress in 2019.
(Credit: Bruce Glikas/FilmMagic/Getty Images)
A jean jacket and black leather minidress became Turner’s signature look during her “Private Dancer” era in 1985.
(Credit: Ross Marino/Icon and Image/Getty Images)
Turner performing in a white halter neckline dress in 1975.
(Credit: Crollalanza/Shutterstock)
Tina Turner in 1984, the year her hit album “Private Dancer” was released.
(Credit: LJ Van Houten/Shutterstock)
The rock and soul star pictured in a fur coat in London, UK, in 1978.
(Credit: André Csillag/Shutterstock)
In the 1985 film “Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome,” Turner’s love of glittery costumes was given a post-apocalyptic twist in her role as Aunty Entity.
(Credit: Moviestore/Shutterstock)
Turner in the low-cut dress. bright red that she wore to the 1985 Grammys.
(Credit: Nick Ut/AP)
The singer is presented with one of her emblematic leather jackets.
(Credit: NBC-TV/Kobal/Shutterstock)
Tina Turner in this photo with the late Tunisian couturier and shoe designer Azzedine Alaïa.
(Credit: Paul Schmulbach/Shutterstock)
A 1968 appearance on the British television show “Goodbye Again.”
(Credit: ITV/Shutterstock)
Turner performs in a glamorous feathered outfit at the 1995 Billboard Music Awards.
(Credit: Mark Lennihan/AP)
Tina Turner onstage during a 2000 Super Bowl XXXIV pregame performance at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta.
(Credit: Allen Kee/AP)
Turner arrives in style at the Giorgio Armani Fall-Winter 2011 show in Milan, Italy.
(Credit: Giuseppe Aresu/AP)
