At the MTV VMAs 2025, Sabrina Carpenter didn’t just perform—she staged a full-scale pop culture séance. The 26-year-old star paid tribute to two icons, Britney Spears and Cher, while putting the legendary designer Bob Mackie back in the center of the conversation.
During her rain-soaked performance of Tears, Carpenter stepped out in a bedazzled halter bra dripping with fringe—a deliberate callback to Spears’ diamond-studded Mackie outfit from the Dream Within a Dream tour in 2001.
Styled by Jared Ellner, the look was anchored with black sequin hot pants, sheer tights, Mary Jane pumps, and a shot of purple eyeshadow. It was Spears redux for a new generation, executed with precision and reverence.
The references didn’t stop there. On the red carpet, Carpenter swapped into Mackie’s “Swamp Dress” from his 1986 Spring collection, a fully sequined cocktail piece that shimmered with asymmetric fringe.
Later, as the night bled into its Studio54-themed afterparty, she arrived in another Mackie original—Cher’s kaleidoscopic 1975 performance dress. First worn alongside Tina Turner during a duet of “Shame Shame Shame,” the vintage piece, all sequins and mirrored light, found new life on Carpenter, styled with voluminous curls and platform pumps.
Carpenter left the night with three Moonmen, including Album of the Year, and the unofficial title of fashion headliner. The deliberate Mackie thread running through her looks was more than costuming—it was strategy. With her forthcoming album Man’s Best Friend leaning hard into ’70s and ’80s disco-pop aesthetics, Carpenter is using clothes to signal the sound. ABBA, Madonna, Cher, Spears—it’s all baked into the narrative she’s building.
The synergy hit another level when Mackie himself endorsed the singer on Instagram, praising her choices and highlighting the craftsmanship of the pieces. That co-sign positions Carpenter not just as a pop singer playing dress-up, but as the modern inheritor of Mackie’s glitzy showgirl tradition—a tradition that Taylor Swift also tapped for her upcoming record, The Life of a Showgirl.
At a time when most stars lean on stylists for borrowed runway looks, Carpenter is mining pop history for resonance. By reanimating Mackie, channeling Britney, and wearing Cher’s own wardrobe, she crafted a VMAs moment that was less about nostalgia and more about inheritance.
For Carpenter, the message was clear: she’s not just performing in the present—she’s writing herself into the lineage of pop spectacle.
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Last modified: September 10, 2025
