Sabrina Carpenter, Ariana Grande, and More Artists Rock 2025 MTV VMAS Red Carpet
Sabrina Carpenter attends the 2025 MTV Video Music Awards at UBS Arena on September 07, 2025 in Elmont, New York. JAMIE MCCARTHY/WIREIMAGE/GETTY IMAGES
The 2025 MTV Music Video Awards kicked off on Sunday, Sept. 7, with artists flaunting their best, most dazzling, and wildest looks on the red carpet, at UBS Arena in New York City.
The VMAs always features stunning styles and moments, and this year has been no exception. Scroll through our gallery of all the fashion that drew fans’ attention prior to the first Moon Person being awarded.
Fresh off their viral GAP ad, viral girl group Katseye traded in daytime denim for some nightlife chic. In the center stands Sophia, throwing it back to the business casual clubwear of yesteryear, while her crew rocks complementary fits of satin, fur, rhinestones, and a barely-there sheer skirt.
Doja Cat’s upcoming album is called Vie, and you could certainly say she’s living the life: The rapper and singer strutted in platform heels, a blonde bouffant, and a form-fitting checkered jacket/skirt that showed off plenty of thigh, with a dazzling dash of magenta plumage up the middle. We can confidently say that she’ll be the only one to literally eat a bite of her lipstick on this red carpet.
Afrobeats darling Ayra Starr wrapped her “Hot Body” in a jumpsuit made of shiny black bands, matching the tone of her new, dark pixie cut. Bandaged but making it sexy, she rocked a tiny blinged-out nose strip to match, along with a stack of thick bangles and strappy, platformed heels.
The comedian and star of Lena Dunham’s latest TV show held nothing back with a white, cylindrical ensemble that made her look like something of a walking chef’s hat (wearing another, smaller chef’s hat, naturally). The array of suspenders is impressive, but the true stars of this look are the spiky nails and the bedazzled Dunkin’ Donuts clutch with a pearl strap. Somewhere, Ben Affleck is nodding in approval.
In her latest twist on her signature all-white outfits, Tate McRae donned an angelic dress with a sheer skirt that draped all around her on the red carpet. She’s fresh off of rocking the nearby Madison Square Garden on Sept. 3 and 4 for her Miss Possessive Arena tour. She’ll be back at the iconic venue on Oct. 18, too.
The “Trust!” singer and DJ opted for a certain level of clash with a delicate but showy lace skirt and a furry gray top that feels like something out of Princess Mononoke. This somewhat more feral style choice was complemented by leather-strapped shoes that appear to have hooves. Whether it all works together is a matter of personal taste, but the spirit of the wilderness is there.
Weeks out from the release of her next album, Midnight Sun, Larsson lit up the carpet by looking like a Lisa Frank illustration — if those had included fewer unicorns and a little more skin. Jeweled flowers adorned her hair, hand, and sheer blue dress, which you might call more of a bathing suit. This is your welcome reminder that summer isn’t over just yet.
After a breakout year following the viral success of her song “Austin” and the country line-dance that propelled it all over TikTok, Dasha walked the carpet dressed to kill in a blood-red getup. Giving the cameras smizes to die for, she showed off a lacy corset, blooming choker, and layered skirt with a full leg-revealing slit.
VMAs host LL Cool J and his wife Simone Smith rocked comfortably loose plaid tweed jackets but went in opposite directions on their headgear: LL with a straw boater and Simone with a cheetah print number. Both also sported accent pieces that no doubt came from Smith’s jewelry line — a lapel brooch for him and jangly gold bracelets for her. They make a great pair of time-traveling gangster rock stars.
Totally giving Clueless, GloRilla stunned in a preppy look that Dionne Davenport (Stacy Dash’s character, duh) would die for. She wore dark hair cascading to past her hips from a side part, her locks almost as long as her plaid super-minidress. Structured with a corset, collar, and tie, it was topped with a matching blazer and styled with ruffled socks and sky-high Mary Jane style heels. What a Betty!
Fresh off the release of Man’s Best Friend, Carpenter was all covered up — but not really. In a sparkling, flame-patterned, barely-there red dress and carrying tentacled, lavender feather boas, the “Manchild” singer seemed ready to launch into a sizzling Las Vegas theater routine at any moment. After the controversy over the gender politics of her latest album cover, she pulled off the impossible: a look both spicy and demure.
To be fair, Ariana Grande had to wear looks like this Fendi number for what felt like an eternity as she promoted the blockbuster musical Wicked last year, but the black-and-white dress with a prominent pop of peplum pink does feel a bit out of place on the red carpet at one of the most lively and cutting-edge award shows there is — as far as fashion goes. Then again, with Wicked: For Good out in two-and-half-months, perhaps she’s holding space for the film here.
Winner of the 2023 Song of Summer VMA for “Seven,” her 2023 collab with Jung Kook, the Atlanta rapper is presenting tonight, not vying for a trophy. That doesn’t mean she can’t dress like one, though. Latto cut a statuesque figure in a sweeping, shimmering golden gown and snake-themed stilettos, making it clear that this is an awards show about flashy pop stars grasping for glory.
Summer Walker hasn’t been afraid to let the world know when she’s Over It, but she was feeling a better kind of blue on the red carpet. Her whimsical look included a massive, furry light blue hat with pops of teal and queen (thoughts and prayers for whoever is sitting behind her if she doesn’t find a place to put it). It complemented her rhinestone-studded capris and matching purse with a silky white corset to top it off.
The English musician performed at the late Ozzy Osbourne’s final concert this summer and paid homage to the heavy-metal tradition this evening, arriving shirtless in a leather coat and pants. And, needless to say, the coat didn’t stay on long. Yungblud flexed a set of abs that would have anyone reconsidering their current workout routine, hitting a well-practiced Jim Morrison pose.
Conan Gray is rocking nautical style along with Wishbone, his latest album that finds him “wear[ing] his heart on his sleeves,” per Rolling Stone‘s review. On the VMAs red carpet, he’s also wearing loads of frills and fabric on his sleeves, too. Ahead of his performance, Gray wore an elaborate, sailor-chic dress with a high-low cut and massive white platform boots. He also donned a sea-faring cap with his album’s initials embroidered into it.
Never one to blend in with the crowd, FKA Twigs was the usual vision of future-forward fashion. She hit the carpet wrapped in a burgundy shawl and straps of fabric, while her braids were styled to resemble a pair of headphones (wired, not bluetooth). The Eusexua singer completed her look with black boots and silver bangles, ready for a role in some not-yet-announced sequel to The Fifth Element.
Tyla loves a micro-look, and tonight’s is made of a structured, cream-colored minidress that made a perfect backdrop for the real star of her fit — the mounds of gold jewelry she piled on. Decked out in a chunky charm bracelet, a waist chain of gold links and pendants, and a pirate’s chest worth of treasures piled on her neck and dangling from her ears, the 2024 Best Afrobeats winner looked like the prize herself.
The “Whatchu Kno About Me” rapper has a reputation to live up to, and was indisputably en fuego in — what else — top-to-bottom red, hair included. With devil horns sprouting from the top of her dress and a long spiked tail trailing from the rear, you might easily have missed the ultimate accessory in this bad-girl getup: a gigantic wad of cash. Who needs a purse when you’re planning to make it rain?
True to their Los Angeles roots, the indie group offered a mash-up of hipster styles that included an ascot, a hood, and a vintage sports jersey layered over a button-down shirt. Lead singer María Zardoya vamped in a silken, fur-lined cape and lace black gloves, giving flashes of Cruella de Vil with her witchy stare, and threw open this evening wear to show off a top that left little to the imagination.
Ah, the early aughts, a heyday of MTV music video programming. And the “Gyatt” rapper has channeled that era with a two-toned garment from Ralph Lauren’s spring 2003 collection, something like a combination of Victorian corset and a patchwork denim picnic tablecloth. Is it possible to channel the Y2K aesthetic and still pull off “timeless” red carpet attire? Alas, you can probably carbon-date this thing to the exact season it came out.
From Rolling Stone US.
The singer has shared the visual for her biting Lux single
The late director brought us Harry, Sally, Lardass, Inigo Montoya, Colonel Jessup, and more to…
“Get ready for Milano Cortina 2026,” the singer announced
The Atlanta rap superstar tries satiating hardcore fans with mixed results on What Happened to…
Was any song better-produced this year than one based on a Korean drinking game?
From ER chaos to supernatural curses, 2025’s Korean slate mixes thrills, laughs, time‑travel cuisine, and…
