The VMAs red carpet – the looser, more brazen younger sister to more rigid, traditional award shows – has wrapped for another year. And while last year’s fashion veered more on the conservative side, this year’s offerings delivered in spades, with everything from swords to tutus, all against a slick black carpet.
Two of the biggest and most talked-about pop stars of the moment, Chappell Roan and Sabrina Carpenter, appeared in starkly contrasting looks. The former in a gauzy maroon and white Y/Project dress with medieval accessories (sword included), and the latter in an old Hollywood sequinned gown from American designer Bob Mackie, originally designed for Madonna.
Styled with a diamond necklace and blonde curls, Carpenter’s look was a clear nod to Madonna’s homage to Marilyn Monroe at the 1991 Oscars.
Madonna at the 1991 Oscars and Sabrina Carpenter at the VMAs.Credit: Getty Images
Similar, but less overt nods to historical dress (we use the word historical very loosely here) were apparent in plenty of attendees’ looks, many of which took a gothic or medieval route. Chain mail, corsetry and veils were all on show from the likes of Camila Cabello, Lisa and Anitta.
Taylor Swift, arriving fashionably late, wore a tartan outfit from Dior that wouldn’t be out of place on a Hot Topic rack. Styled with a matching choker, leather fingerless gloves and thigh-high boots, the look felt like a superhero-esque rendition of Alicia Silverstone’s classic yellow plaid tartan set in Clueless.
Taylor Swift wears a Dior corset to the 2024 VMAs.Credit: Getty Images
Distressed glamour was another clear trend on the carpet, with Katy Perry donning a shredded denim two-piece from Who Decides War; Tyla a stringy, fringed neon yellow dress; and Tinashe a torn leather set straight out of Crocodile Dundee.
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But Paris Hilton was the queen of derelict chic with a chewed-up version of the Glomesh mini she first wore in 2002. Paired with an over-the-top diamond choker and wet-look hair, it felt like a heavy-handed metaphor for everything the party girl has been through. But we’re probably reading too much into things.
