6 Best and Worst-Dressed Musicians at Grammys 2022

One of the best parts about the Grammys Red Carpet is that, unlike the Oscars and Emmys, artists are allowed a much higher degree of creative freedom in terms of exploring and experimenting with their stylistic preferences.

Like every other year, the 64th Annual Grammy Awards ceremony saw a series of buzz-generating, eyebrow-raising ensemble choices – unified by a dominant love for hot pink and sequins, in a major throwback to the glam Y2K aesthetic. Kicking off from the MGM Grand Central Arena, Las Vegas at 5:30 AM IST, this year’s show saw tons of hotly-debated pieces incorporating themes like classic black-tie and exotic animal prints, to dominatrix-inspired bondage wear and spiked, dinosaur-influenced jumpsuits.

Here’s presenting our picks for this year’s six best and six worst dressed musicians from the Red Carpet of the prestigious, star-studded event.

BEST-DRESSED

6. SZA in Jean Paul Gualtier

SZA arrived to the Red Carpet looking like an absolute vision, adorned in a blooming, Midsommar-inspired gown, complete with a tulle detailing and a glorious, panoramic train attached to its back. The ensemble was built in the structure of a corset fitted with a sweetheart neckline along with intricate multi-color blossoms running all the way down to its centre, and fit the singer like a glove – helping accentuate her natural bodyline. With a lot of bright hues, camp and pizzazz dominating this year’s Red Carpet – the pastel hues, spring-centric vibe and simple, minimalistic hairdo plus accessories complementing this piece were a soothing treat to the eyes. This gown was, in fact, the closing look of Jean Paul Gaultier’s bucolic spring 2006 collection.

5. BTS in Louis Vuitton

The most fashion-forward, well-coordinated boyband in the showbiz suited up to the red carpet in luxurious Louis Vuitton attire. Dribbling in hues of brown, beige, white, blue, and lavender – the septet put up a suave, color-coordinated fashion front, rocking custom-made wool and cashmere suits by the couture house. Inspired from the Men’s Fall 2022 collection, the tailored suits were successful in doing justice to the members’ svelte frames, which were further accentuated by the usage of occasion-appropriate black and white Oxfords. Members V and RM each wore brown suits over lilac shirts with matching black shoes (V’s additional floral boutonniere detail was difficult to miss), while J-Hope and Suga flaunted crisp, all-white suits and shoes. Both Jungkook and Jimin sported dark blue suits, albeit Jungkook went for a baggier, pleated rendition in contrast to Jimin’s form-fitting suit. BTS’ oldest member Jin didn’t essentially have a twinning partner, but stood out on his own with a gorgeous camel-toned suit which he layered over a white dress shirt and an aqua-blue tie.

4. Halsey in Pressiat

I think at this point it’s definitely justified to commemorate Halsey as the ultimate #PowerFemale of contemporary times. The singer managed to pull off one of the most iconic Grammy looks of all-time, despite being just three days out of her endometriosis surgery. She flaunted a sensual femme fatale look, dressed in a Pressiat Fall 2022 dress which incorporated a velvety figure-hugging bodice with a looser, draped bottom, in rich ‘noir’-core tones of black and chocolate brown. She paired this look with exquisite Tiffany & Co. diamond jewelry and Stuart Weitzman black high heels, finishing off the look with her stylist’s buzz-worthy cocktail hat and a bold red lip to help spotlight and draw focus to her matching red hair, an exceptionally smart fashion move through and through.

3. Dua Lipa in Versace

Paying homage to 1993 Donatella Versace, Dua Lipa rocked a luxurious all-black vintage Versace “bondage” gown, complete with harness details and gold motifs. The classic look comes from Gianni Versace’s Fall 1992 ready-to-wear collection, and features a sheer bodice layered with sleek, criss-crossing black straps. This was accompanied by pairing clunky golden embellishments with the signature ‘Medusa’ logo, and in a surprise reveal – platinum blond locks exactly like Donatella’s. The iconic dominatrix-inspired piece has previously been worn by Donatella Versace to the 1992 Met Gala, Cindy Crawford to the 1992 VMAs and a subsequent rendition by her daughter Kaia at her eighteenth. Similar knock off pieces have also been worn in the past by the likes of Kim Kardashian, Naomi Campbell and Beyoncé.

2. Tiara Thomas in Vera Wang

Tiara Thomas stood out a class apart, donning a suave all-black lingerie-inspired, tulle-style dress complete with a trendy ruched detailing. Looking like a million bucks, she layered a structured long blazer with a coordinated duchess silken miniskirt, over the sultry sheer dress. The final touches to the outfit came in the form of a black charmeuse, bikini-cup top suspended vis-à-vis a delicate “Y”-neck strap. She finished off this look with a bang, flaunting matching black nails with defined silver rings and ear piercings. The ensemble was a part of the Vera Wang Haute Collection.

1. Lil Nas X in Balmain

Stunning in all-white, and channeling a bedazzled Elvis Presley-esque aesthetic, Lil Nas X donned an ornate, high collared custom-made Balmain suit at this year’s Red Carpet. In sync with the star’s previous armor-influenced looks, the quilted outfit was a sure-fire head turner, encrusted with rhinestone detailing and silver pearls from head-to-toe. The suit was embroidered with butterflies and paired with his signature chunky platform boots to add some height and gravity to the overall ensemble. This look has been regarded as a homage to Kim Kardashian’s iconic Balmain dress which she was photographed wearing during her bachelorette party in Paris, circa 2014.

WORST-DRESSED

6. Mickey Guyton in Ashish

The spot for #6 was a close tie between Guyton, Yola and H.E.R. – but Guyton takes this one home, as both Yola and H.E.R.’s questionable outfit choices seemed to have a stronger concept and creative vision behind them. Combining metallics, sequins and heavy fringe all-into-one didn’t really seem to work in Guyton’s favor, especially owing to the fact that the dress didn’t possess a longer silhouette and hit right above her knees. To add to that, the transitioning tones of silver, golden, bronze and burgundy further made it difficult for the attire to come together cohesively, making the multiple conflicting elements seem like they were grappling for the onlooker’s attention, instead. This attire from the label’s Spring 2022 Collection, was paired with coordinated velvet Stuart Weitzman pumps and white nail paint, which failed to drive home a significant degree of impact. We did however, dig her long bubble-braided hairstyle and the addition of the golden details definitely upped the overall style quotient of the look and made it marginally more interesting.

5. Japanese Breakfast in Valentino

Keeping aside the fact that Michelle Zauner failed to quite nail her own brief with this one, her outfit nevertheless drew a lot of headlines; courtesy the pop star’s bold and quirky fashion aesthetic. Wearing a mini dress consisting of stacked up, in-your-face, bright yellow petal-like structures and white Stuart Weitzman platforms to reflect the pearl accents in her hair, the artist paired the backless piece with even more yellow: from her nail extensions to eye shadow. The main piece, originally a part of the Valentino Fall 2021 Haute Couture – by itself isn’t too bad, and suits the singer’s artistic canvas quite accurately – however the accompanying shoes, hair, makeup when combined, felt a tad bit overwhelming for the ceremony.

4. Justin Bieber in Balenciaga

Hey, listen, we’re all for comfortable, oversized clothing – but this specific look was definitely NOT it. Notwithstanding the fact that oversized, baggy-silhouettes are a Balenciaga signature, this particular grey suit that Bieber wore today seemed to easily be four to five sizes outside of his comfort zone as he ended up being “swallowed” by his own outfit. Pairing it with a neon pink beanie and chunky crocs (re: the only thing keeping his pants from sweeping the entire length of the Red Carpet) felt quite messy and low effort. The silver wallet chain was definitely a standout, but not enough to save this disaster of an outfit. The fit has since sparked a series of fiery online debates alongside threads of Twitter memes, with one user even remarking, ‘You know inflation is bad when even Justin Bieber can’t buy a suit that fits.‘    

3. Victoria Evigan in Unidentified brand

Again, there was just too much going on in this outfit, which ended up making the overall ensemble aesthetically displeasing, to say the least. The ‘Elephant Heart’ member’s multi-toned hair, paired with distractingly bright hues of orange and neon yellow – along with textures like ruffles, nets, tulles and tassels all forced into one bulky frock – made the resultant piece resemble a hodgepodge with no specific vision or direction to it. Even that endearing little message of “Love is the Weapon” sloppily slapped across the backside of her skirt, wasn’t enough to resuscitate the costume wherein the details of her yellow biker shorts stayed visibly apparent through the sheer fabric, a massive fashion faux pas.

2. Tayla Parx in BCalla

Parx showed up at the ceremony channeling a cartoon dinosaur, in an avant garde, acid-green jumpsuit, which she paired with neon yellow platform boots. Would this piece be a hit if worn to the Met? Likely. But the Grammys? Not so much. The bright green Bowser-inspired two-piece comprised flashy green spikes running across the length of her arms, legs and neck – as did her platform boots. Even Parx’s hair wasn’t spared of the sheer brutality, as her long braid was twisted into a giant, spiked ball which the artist utilized as her choice of prop while posing for the paparazzi.  She later posted a pap shot to her Instagram, captioning it “if Bowser was a bad bitch.” Her outfit was easily the most eccentric from the night, followed closely by Colombian band ‘Bomba Estéreo’s.

1. Dillon Francis in Error: Not Found

Talk about low effort – this one definitely takes the five-tier, extra-icing cake! Receiving a last-minute extra invite from Diplo while running some errands, the DJ confidently pulled up to the Red Carpet of music’s biggest night, in all casuals – donning an un-ironed blue baggy tee with black skinny jeans which he chose to accessorize with a plastic Walgreens bag filled with snacks, in one hand, and his Grammy’s invite in the other. He waved around the latter while posing before the cameras, probably keeping it close incase of being mistaken for a possible trespasser by the venue guards. Francis completed this look by pairing it with a silver chain and a pair of black and white checked Vans, which alas, didn’t do much for salvaging the outfit.  “Did I win best outfit or nah?” the musician later joked on his Instagram profile.