The MTV Video Music Awards have a rich history of outlandish — and, at times, outright bizarre — fashion. Even without Lady Gaga’s meat dress or Britney Spears’ python, the annual ceremony is guaranteed to deliver over-the-top styling, playful accessories and tributes to icons of VMAs past.
Sunday night was no exception. From underwear-baring sheer gowns to throwbacks from the fashion archives, the event’s red carpet was, this year, fun and risqué in equal measure.
Here are some of the most memorable looks from New York’s UBS Arena.
Wearing headphones to block out the red-carpet din would not have been entirely out of character for nonconformist singer FKA Twigs. This was, however, another avant-garde creation by Louis Souvestre, the self-described “hairfreak” who continues to walk a fine line between hairstyling and sculpture.
The man behind Twigs’ part-shaven “skullet” not only arranged the singer’s braids into the shape of over-ear headphones — he also used the contrast between cornrows (at the front) and spikes (at the back) to amplify the illusion.
No detail was overlooked, with two thin braids even dangling down and disappearing into the singers’ low-rise burgundy pants, like jack cables. Twigs’ torso-baring bandeau top, meanwhile, perfectly framed her artful hair between padded shoulders.
Sabrina Carpenter has made halter necks and strapless gowns her red-carpet staples of late. So, it was both surprising and refreshing to see her arrive in a long-sleeved, high-necked and floor-length gown in a shade that almost perfectly matched the red carpet itself.
This isn’t to say Valentino’s creation was overly demure: its strategically placed beadwork and floral embroidery combined with sheer red fabric to offer hints of skin beneath. Yet, the dress was also among the most elegant looks at an event traditionally considered among the least formal in the fashion calendar.
Carpenter kept things fun with a lilac boa, bringing some additional showgirl glam on a night she took home three VMAs, including Best Pop Artist and Best Album.
“KPop Demon Hunters” is now the most watched title in Netflix’s history, with the song “Golden” even nominated in the VMAs’ Song of the Summer category. So, despite being animated (and fictional), it seemed fitting that the movie’s central girl group, Huntr/x, made an appearance on the red carpet.
Ejae, Rei Ami and Audrey Nuna, who provide 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 almost literal nod to her character Mira wearing a sleeping bag to the Met Gala — that sent the movie’s fans into meltdown on social media.
The leather pants, heavy boots and goth styling were very much on brand Yungblud. And while his shirtless appearance was divisive on social media, there was only one part of the British singer’s outfit that really mattered: the bejeweled cross necklace gifted to him by hero and mentor, Ozzy Osbourne, who died in July.
In a moving moment between two generations of rock stars, Osbourne famously gave Yungblud the cross in 2022, during filming for the latter’s video “The Funeral.” The 28-year-old says he has worn it ever since — and has also pledged to perform Black Sabbath’s “Changes” at every show he ever plays. Yungblud later revealed that, by complete coincidence, the cross had been made by his girlfriend Jesse Jo Stark’s father (Richard Stark of Chrome Hearts) in the early 1990s.
Arriving at the VMAs ahead of a tribute to Osbourne performed alongside Extreme guitarist Nuno Bettencourt and Aerosmith’s Steven Tyler and Joe Perry, Yungblud ripped off his fur-trimmed jacket to give the necklace full, bare-chested prominence.
The VMAs red carpet is no place for prudes. Sheer fabric — and consequently, visible underwear — reigned large this year, with Zara Larsson and Nikki Glaser among those leaving little to the imagination in semi-transparent gowns. But Tate McRae’s white silk chiffon outfit was, perhaps, the sheerest of them all.
Online, the ethereal gown saw McRae compared to a “Greek Goddess” (though the pleated bra top and matching underwear were hardly plucked from antiquity). It took 134 hours to produce, by hand, according to Parisian label Ludovic de Saint Sernin.
Sernin has emerged as a favorite for celebrities looking to elevate lingerie- and BDSM-inspired looks for the red carpet. He is no one-trick pony, though: McRae’s custom dress comes from the very Spring-Summer 2026 collection that spawned the structured leather mini-dress Olivia Rodrigo wore to headline this year’s Glastonbury festival.
Doja Cat brings ‘80s glamour — and an edible prop
Doja Cat was a picture of ‘80s glamour in a voluminous blonde wig and embroidered, harlequin-patterned dress by Balmain. With her forthcoming album “Vie” expected to be heavily 1980s-inspired, the look was, in part, a piece of clever marketing.
So, too, was what happened next: In one of the evening’s viral moments, the singer took a MAC lipstick out of her lipstick-shaped clutch and began applying it in front of the cameras before taking a hearty bite. Moments later, she was revealed as the new face of MAC.
Confirming the appointment, a spokesperson for the cosmetics firm revealed that Doja Cat’s red carpet snack was, in fact, an edible trompe l’oeil chocolate prop made by the TikTok pastry chef and chocolatier Amaury Guichon.
The first time Tyla’s dress appeared in public (at Paris Fashion Week, almost a decade before the South African singer was born) it wasn’t a dress at all, but a shirt. And it was worn by Claudia Schiffer.
For the VMAs, double-nominee Tyla put a creative spin on archival fashion by transforming a sleeveless top from Chanel’s Spring-Summer 1993 collection. Helped by being significantly shorter than the statuesque Schiffer, the singer was able to — just about — re-style it into a skintight minidress.
And as a brand ambassador for Pandora, it was perhaps little surprise that Tyla accessorized with jewels from the brand’s Talisman collection, rather 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 the evening’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, as well as a pair of towering white platform shoes.
On Instagram, Charlotte gave the singer “major flowers” for navigating the red carpet in an outfit that, he said, weighed 30 pounds. “So happy this denim behemoth got to make it onto the carpet!” he added.
Effective ensemble dressing balances individuality with creative cohesion. Styled by Kyle Luu and sporting head-to-toe Dolce & Gabbana, the LA-based “global girl group” Katseye showed precisely how it’s done.
Fresh off the back of the band’s viral Gap ad, there was no denim in sight. There were, however, clear overriding themes: satiny black fabrics and doses of sparkle. Within the brief, each member’s outfit stood apart from — but somehow spoke to — the others.
Manon Bannerman and Megan Meiyok Skiendiel put differing spins on conical bras as outerwear, one peeking from under a blazer and the other over a figure-hugging dress. Lara Raj’s bejeweled headpiece and shoes offset the more immediate shimmer of Daniela Avanzini’s crystal-adorned tulle dress. And Yoonchae Jeung’s knee-high boots and sweetheart neckline almost inverted the proportions of Sophia Laforteza’s structured dress.
And for the rest…
Scroll through the gallery below to see more of the evening’s looks.
