The MTV Video Music Awards have a wealthy historical past of outlandish — and, at instances, outright weird — trend. Even with out Lady Gaga’s meat costume or Britney Spears’ python, the annual ceremony is assured to ship over-the-top styling, playful equipment and tributes to icons of VMAs previous.
Sunday evening was no exception. From underwear-baring sheer robes to throwbacks from the style archives, the occasion’s red carpet was, this 12 months, enjoyable and risqué in equal measure.
Here are among the most memorable looks from New York’s UBS Arena.
Wearing headphones to dam out the red-carpet din wouldn’t have been fully out of character for nonconformist singer FKA Twigs. This was, nonetheless, one other avant-garde creation by Louis Souvestre, the self-described “hairfreak” who continues to stroll a advantageous line between hairstyling and sculpture.
The man behind Twigs’ part-shaven “skullet” not solely organized the singer’s braids into the form of over-ear headphones — he additionally used the distinction between cornrows (at the entrance) and spikes (at the again) to amplify the phantasm.
No element was neglected, with two skinny braids even dangling down and disappearing into the singers’ low-rise burgundy pants, like jack cables. Twigs’ torso-baring bandeau prime, in the meantime, completely framed her clever hair between padded shoulders.
Sabrina Carpenter has made halter necks and strapless robes her red-carpet staples of late. So, it was each stunning and refreshing to see her arrive in a long-sleeved, high-necked and floor-length robe in a shade that nearly completely matched the red carpet itself.
This isn’t to say Valentino’s creation was overly demure: its strategically positioned beadwork and floral embroidery mixed with sheer red material to supply hints of pores and skin beneath. Yet, the costume was additionally among the many most elegant looks at an occasion historically thought of among the many least formal within the trend calendar.
Carpenter stored issues enjoyable with a lilac boa, bringing some extra showgirl glam on an evening she took house three VMAs, together with Best Pop Artist and Best Album.
“KPop Demon Hunters” is now the most watched title in Netflix’s historical past, with the tune “Golden” even nominated within the VMAs’ Song of the Summer class. So, regardless of being animated (and fictional), it appeared becoming that the film’s central lady group, Huntr/x, made an look on the red carpet.
Ejae, Rei Ami and Audrey Nuna, who present the band’s singing voices, broke the fourth wall in complementary, Huntr/x-style ensembles.
But it was Nuna’s life-imitates-art puffy jacket — an virtually literal nod to her character Mira sporting a sleeping bag to the Met Gala — that despatched the film’s followers into meltdown on social media.
The leather-based pants, heavy boots and goth styling have been very a lot on model Yungblud. And whereas his shirtless look was divisive on social media, there was just one a part of the British singer’s outfit that basically mattered: the bejeweled cross necklace gifted to him by hero and mentor, Ozzy Osbourne, who died in July.
In a shifting second between two generations of rock stars, Osbourne famously gave Yungblud the cross in 2022, throughout filming for the latter’s video “The Funeral.” The 28-year-old says he has worn it ever since — and has additionally pledged to carry out Black Sabbath’s “Changes” at each present he ever performs. Yungblud later revealed that, by full coincidence, the cross had been made by his girlfriend Jesse Jo Stark’s father (Richard Stark of Chrome Hearts) within the early Nineteen Nineties.
Arriving at the VMAs forward of a tribute to Osbourne carried out alongside Extreme guitarist Nuno Bettencourt and Aerosmith’s Steven Tyler and Joe Perry, Yungblud ripped off his fur-trimmed jacket to present the necklace full, bare-chested prominence.
The VMAs red carpet is not any place for prudes. Sheer material — and consequently, seen underwear — reigned giant this 12 months, with Zara Larsson and Nikki Glaser amongst these leaving little to the creativeness in semi-transparent robes. But Tate McRae’s white silk chiffon outfit was, maybe, the sheerest of all of them.
Online, the ethereal robe noticed McRae in comparison with a “Greek Goddess” (although the pleated bra prime and matching underwear have been hardly plucked from antiquity). It took 134 hours to provide, by hand, in keeping with Parisian label Ludovic de Saint Sernin.
Sernin has emerged as a favourite for celebrities trying to elevate lingerie- and BDSM-inspired looks for the red carpet. He is not any one-trick pony, although: McRae’s customized costume comes from the very Spring-Summer 2026 assortment that spawned the structured leather-based mini-dress Olivia Rodrigo wore to headline this 12 months’s Glastonbury pageant.
Doja Cat brings ‘80s glamour — and an edible prop
Doja Cat was an image of ‘80s glamour in a voluminous blonde wig and embroidered, harlequin-patterned costume by Balmain. With her forthcoming album “Vie” anticipated to be closely Eighties-inspired, the look was, partly, a bit of intelligent advertising and marketing.
So, too, was what occurred subsequent: In one of many night’s viral moments, the singer took a MAC lipstick out of her lipstick-shaped clutch and commenced making use of it in entrance of the cameras earlier than taking a hearty chew. Moments later, she was revealed as the brand new face of MAC.
Confirming the appointment, a spokesperson for the cosmetics agency revealed that Doja Cat’s red carpet snack was, the truth is, an edible trompe l’oeil chocolate prop made by the TikTok pastry chef and chocolatier Amaury Guichon.
The first time Tyla’s costume appeared in public (at Paris Fashion Week, virtually a decade earlier than the South African singer was born) it wasn’t a costume at all, however a shirt. And it was worn by Claudia Schiffer.
For the VMAs, double-nominee Tyla put a inventive spin on archival trend by remodeling a sleeveless prime from Chanel’s Spring-Summer 1993 assortment. Helped by being considerably shorter than the statuesque Schiffer, the singer was capable of — nearly — re-style it right into a skintight minidress.
And as a model ambassador for Pandora, it was maybe little shock that Tyla accessorized with jewels from the model’s Talisman assortment, reasonably than the gold Chanel chain belt worn by Schiffer.
Thick, heavy and water-absorbent — denim is, frankly, a sailor’s nightmare. But for a nautical-themed VMAs ensemble with matching hat? Why not.
Known for gender fluidity and red carpet risk-taking, Conan Gray arrived in one of many night’s boldest looks. His theatrical maritime outfit, created by womenswear designer Erik Charlotte, featured exaggerated puff sleeves, a cinched corset waist and a ruffled skirt, in addition to a pair of towering white platform footwear.
On Instagram, Charlotte gave the singer “major flowers” for navigating the red carpet in an outfit that, he mentioned, weighed 30 kilos. “So happy this denim behemoth got to make it onto the carpet!” he added.
Effective ensemble dressing balances individuality with inventive cohesion. Styled by Kyle Luu and sporting head-to-toe Dolce & Gabbana, the LA-based “global girl group” Katseye confirmed exactly the way it’s performed.
Fresh off the again of the band’s viral Gap advert, there was no denim in sight. There have been, nonetheless, clear overriding themes: satiny black materials and doses of sparkle. Within the transient, every member’s outfit stood other than — however by some means spoke to — the others.
Manon Bannerman and Megan Meiyok Skiendiel put differing spins on conical bras as outerwear, one peeking from underneath a blazer and the opposite over a figure-hugging costume. Lara Raj’s bejeweled headpiece and footwear offset the extra rapid shimmer of Daniela Avanzini’s crystal-adorned tulle costume. And Yoonchae Jeung’s knee-high boots and sweetheart neckline virtually inverted the proportions of Sophia Laforteza’s structured costume.
And for the remainder…
Scroll by means of the gallery beneath to see extra of the night’s looks.
