Sabrina Carpenter pays homage to Madonna, Taylor Swift channels Clueless – the VMAs red carpet had it all

By Prudence Wade, PA

Sabrina Carpenter paid homage to Madonna in a vintage Bob Mackie gown on the glamorous red carpet at the 2024 MTV Video Music Awards (VMAs).

The singer, who picked up song of the year for Espresso, donned the same heavily beaded, strapless white gown with silver detailing as Madonna wore to the 1991 Oscars.

Designer Bob Mackie, who made his name for the elaborate outfits he designed for singer Cher, was responsible for the dress.

Carpenter styled the gown similarly to how Madonna did to the Oscars: with a sparkling diamond necklace, her blonde hair in Old Hollywood-inspired loose girls and a red lip – although she ditched the white fur and gloves worn in the Nineties.

Carpenter wasn’t the only celebrity going all-out in the style stakes for the 40th edition of the annual event, which was held at the UBS Arena on New York’s Long Island.

Taylor Swift had a big night – she won home seven awards, taking her career total to 30, which means she now equals Beyonce as the most awarded musician in VMAs history.

The Cruel Summer singer walked the red carpet in a design fresh from the Dior Cruise runway show, which was held in the gardens of Drummond Castle in Perthshire, Scotland, in June.

The outfit featured a yellow tartan corset, black hotpants, a tartan caped skirt, black thigh-high leather boots and strappy fingerless gloves.

Dior’s collection paid homage to Scotland through various uses of tartan, but it’s hard not to see Swift’s outfit as a punk version of the iconic yellow tartan outfit worn by Cher (played by Alicia Silverstone) in the 1995 film Clueless.

Katy Perry was honoured with the Video Vanguard Award at VMAs, and she channelled a space-inspired theme in her fashion. For her first outfit, she picked an ensemble that debuted on the New York Fashion Week runway just days before, from up-and-coming brand Who Decides War.

The distressed white two-piece featured an asymmetric bra top and a low-waisted voluminous skirt, with loose threads hanging off it. She paired the daring outfit with wet-look hair and a metal armpiece, which added to the futuristic vibe of the look.

This wasn’t Perry’s only look of the night. The I Kissed A Girl Singer continued with the futuristic theme to perform a medley of her hits and accept the award, wearing a nude corseted bodysuit with silver detailing and what looks like tubes connecting the metal accents on her arms.

While Perry ended the night on a more demure note, changing into a Grecian-style knotted fringe dress in silver.

Megan Thee Stallion hosted the event for the first time, and she walked the red carpet in a dramatic black gown by a label that typically makes bridal outfits: Nicole + Felicia.

The outfit was made up of a strapless, corseted bodysuit with a sheer overlay, exploding into a dramatic full skirt that looked to be knotted at her knees. Thee Stallion kept the styling of such an ostentatious outfit simple, pairing it with a sleek black bob and minimal jewellery.

The VMAs red carpet is an opportunity to take more fashion risks than you might normally – this is, after all, the event that saw Lady Gaga’s infamous meat dress.

While no one was wearing raw meat on the red carpet, there were still plenty of daring outfits on shows – like one worn by Montero singer Lil Nas X.

He wore a white and pink leather outfit that seemed to take dual inspirations from racing car fashion and space, complete with a statement helmet covering his face.

Meanwhile Good Luck, Babe! singer Chappell Roan looked not to the future for her fashion inspirations, but to the past – wearing a medieval-inspired ensemble by Y/Project.

Roan was named best new artist on the night, and even walked the red carpet clutching a full-size medieval sword.

South African singer Tyla wore a bright outfit from edgy label Area: a fringed strapless minidress with long trailing threads, which showed off her green underwear and was further accessorised with a bright blue necklace and pink heels.

Carpenter wasn’t the only celebrity wearing vintage on the red carpet – Canadian singer Tate McRae also dipped into the archives, paying homage to Britney Spears in her outfit.

McRae wore a see-through black lace Roberto Cavalli mini dress with long sleeves – channelling the look Spears wore to the 2001 VMAs.