Skip To Content BuzzFeed Logo
News Quizzes TV & Movies Shopping Videos Newsletters
Person Person Log In To BuzzFeed

Sections

Animals Audio Books Business Buzz Celebrity Community Entertainment Food Geeky Health Investigations LGBT Life Music Nifty Parents Podcasts Politics Puzzles Reader Rewind Science Shopping Sports Style Tasty Tech Travel Videos Weddings World
About Advertise Jobs Mobile Newsletters Merch
Press RSS Privacy User Terms Ad Choices Help Contact Sitemap

Advertisement

Style

22 Memorable Outfits Worn At The MTV Video Music Awards

These looks were ahead of their time.

Michele Bird
BuzzFeed Contributor

When it comes to fashion, the VMAs might as well be a runway.

MTV / Via giphy.com

From '90s favorites to barely there outfits, the VMAs have never had a shortage of statement-making looks to grace the red carpet.

MTV / Via giphy.com

We've rounded up some of the most iconic outfits made famous at the VMAs over the years. Check them out below:

1. To start, Cindy Crawford's dominatrix-inspired leather and lace Versace bustier in 1992:

Frank Trapper / Corbis via Getty Images

Advertisement

2. This all-metallic fit Lenny Kravitz rocked in 1993:

Anna Krajec / Getty Images

3. This show-stopping side slit black two-piece Mariah Carey wore in 1997:

Ron Davis

4. This sci-fi favorite featuring Gwen Stefani's icy blue hair in 1998:

Frank Trapper / Corbis via Getty Images

Advertisement

5. This pink furry hat and sparkling sequins legging look from Pamela Anderson in 1999:

Frank Micelotta Archive / Getty Images

6. This coordinated couples' moment from Jennifer Lopez and Diddy in 2000:

Steve Azzara / Corbis via Getty Images

7. This very punk-rock ensemble Pink made her own in 2000:

Jeff Kravitz / FilmMagic, Inc

Advertisement

8. This Macy Gray dress promoting her new album in 2001:

Frank Micelotta Archive / Getty Images

9. This Destiny's Child fringe moment in 2001:

Pa Images / PA Images via Getty Images

10. This onstage costume we've never forgotten from Britney Spears in 2001:

Timothy A. Clary / AFP FILES/AFP via Getty Images

Advertisement

11. This vintage glam dress from Christina Aguilera in 2006:

Anthony Harvey - Pa Images / PA Images via Getty Images

12. This meat dress only Lady Gaga could have ever pulled off in 2010:

Patrick Mcmullan / Patrick McMullan via Getty Images

13. This daring look Nicki Minaj debuted in 2011:

Anthony Harvey / Getty Images

Advertisement

14. This all-denim throwback worn by Katy Perry and Riff Raff in 2014:

Jason Merritt

15. This risqué look where Miley Cyrus was nearly naked in 2015:

C Flanigan / Getty Images

16. This sweet mother-daughter photo op from Beyoncé and Blue Ivy in 2016:

Kevin Mazur / WireImage

Advertisement

17. This sheer cocktail dress Kim Kardashian wore in 2016:

Allen Berezovsky / WireImage

18. This colorful cape that Jared Leto wowed us with in 2017:

Alberto E. Rodriguez / Getty Images

19. This see-through mesh gown Rita Ora wore in 2018:

Axelle / FilmMagic

Advertisement

20. This mosaic-inspired outfit Taylor Swift showed off in 2019:

Axelle / WireImage

21. This fiery red floor-length gown Lizzo rocked with a feather boa in 2019:

Sopa Images / SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images

22. Finally, this sparkling silver disco look worn by Lil Nas X in 2019:

Sopa Images / SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images

Advertisement

What's your favorite VMAs look of all time? Let us know in the comments!

Share on Facebook Share on Facebook Share Share on Twitter Share on Twitter Share More More

More like this:

More entertainment, shopping, and quizzes in the BuzzFeed app!

Comments
Unable to load comments. Try reloading this page or viewing the full site. Pop out
Show more Expand

Advertisement

Close this modal Close this modal

Share This Article

BuzzFeed - Do Not Sell My Data

We, and our partners, use technologies to process personal information, including IP addresses, pseudonymous identifiers associated with cookies, and in some cases mobile ad IDs. This information is processed to personalize content based on your interests, run and optimize marketing campaigns, measure the performance of ads and content, and derive insights about the audiences who engage with ads and content. This data is an integral part of how we operate our site, make revenue to support our staff, and generate relevant content for our audience. You can learn more about our data collection and use practices in our Privacy Policy.

If you wish to request that your personal information is not shared with third parties, please click on the below opt out button. Please note that after your opt out request is processed, we may still collect your information in order to operate our site.

We value your privacy

We and our partners use technology such as cookies on our site to personalize content and ads, provide social media features, and analyze our traffic. Click below to consent to the use of this technology across the web. You can change your mind and change your consent choices at anytime by returning to this site.

BuzzFeed

Information storage and access

The storage of information, or access to information that is already stored, on your device such as advertising identifiers, device identifiers, cookies, and similar technologies.

Personalisation

The collection and processing of information about your use of this service to subsequently personalise advertising and/or content for you in other contexts, such as on other websites or apps, over time. Typically, the content of the site or app is used to make inferences about your interests, which inform future selection of advertising and/or content.

Ad selection, delivery, reporting

The collection of information, and combination with previously collected information, to select and deliver advertisements for you, and to measure the delivery and effectiveness of such advertisements. This includes using previously collected information about your interests to select ads, processing data about what advertisements were shown, how often they were shown, when and where they were shown, and whether you took any action related to the advertisement, including for example clicking an ad or making a purchase. This does not include personalisation, which is the collection and processing of information about your use of this service to subsequently personalise advertising and/or content for you in other contexts, such as websites or apps, over time.

Content selection, delivery, reporting

The collection of information, and combination with previously collected information, to select and deliver content for you, and to measure the delivery and effectiveness of such content. This includes using previously collected information about your interests to select content, processing data about what content was shown, how often or how long it was shown, when and where it was shown, and whether the you took any action related to the content, including for example clicking on content. This does not include personalisation, which is the collection and processing of information about your use of this service to subsequently personalise content and/or advertising for you in other contexts, such as websites or apps, over time.

Third-party vendors

Information storage and access

The storage of information, or access to information that is already stored, on your device such as advertising identifiers, device identifiers, cookies, and similar technologies.

View Companies Hide Companies

Company

  • Lotame Solutions, Inc.
  • OpenX Software Ltd. and its affiliates
  • The Rubicon Project, Limited
  • Index Exchange, Inc.
  • comScore, Inc.
  • DoubleVerify Inc.​
  • LiveRamp, Inc.
  • Taboola Europe Limited
  • PubMatic, Inc.
  • Outbrain UK Ltd
  • EMX Digital LLC
  • Nielsen Marketing Cloud
  • Google (DFP / AdX)

Personalisation

The collection and processing of information about your use of this service to subsequently personalise advertising and/or content for you in other contexts, such as on other websites or apps, over time. Typically, the content of the site or app is used to make inferences about your interests, which inform future selection of advertising and/or content.

View Companies Hide Companies

Company

  • Lotame Solutions, Inc.
  • OpenX Software Ltd. and its affiliates
  • LiveRamp, Inc.
  • Outbrain UK Ltd
  • EMX Digital LLC
  • Nielsen Marketing Cloud
  • Google (DFP / AdX)

Ad selection, delivery, reporting

The collection of information, and combination with previously collected information, to select and deliver advertisements for you, and to measure the delivery and effectiveness of such advertisements. This includes using previously collected information about your interests to select ads, processing data about what advertisements were shown, how often they were shown, when and where they were shown, and whether you took any action related to the advertisement, including for example clicking an ad or making a purchase. This does not include personalisation, which is the collection and processing of information about your use of this service to subsequently personalise advertising and/or content for you in other contexts, such as websites or apps, over time.

View Companies Hide Companies

Company

  • Lotame Solutions, Inc.
  • OpenX Software Ltd. and its affiliates
  • LiveRamp, Inc.
  • Outbrain UK Ltd
  • Google (DFP / AdX)

Content selection, delivery, reporting

The collection of information, and combination with previously collected information, to select and deliver content for you, and to measure the delivery and effectiveness of such content. This includes using previously collected information about your interests to select content, processing data about what content was shown, how often or how long it was shown, when and where it was shown, and whether the you took any action related to the content, including for example clicking on content. This does not include personalisation, which is the collection and processing of information about your use of this service to subsequently personalise content and/or advertising for you in other contexts, such as websites or apps, over time.

View Companies Hide Companies

Company

  • Lotame Solutions, Inc.
  • LiveRamp, Inc.
  • Google (DFP / AdX)

Measurement

The collection of information about your use of the content, and combination with previously collected information, used to measure, understand, and report on your usage of the service. This does not include personalisation, the collection of information about your use of this service to subsequently personalise content and/or advertising for you in other contexts, i.e. on other service, such as websites or apps, over time.

View Companies Hide Companies

Company

  • Lotame Solutions, Inc.
  • RhythmOne, LLC
  • comScore, Inc.
  • DoubleVerify Inc.​
  • LiveRamp, Inc.
  • Outbrain UK Ltd
  • Google (DFP / AdX)

Company

Lotame Solutions, Inc.

Privacy policy: https://www.lotame.com/about-lotame/privacy/

Purposes:

  • Information storage and access
  • Personalisation
  • Ad selection, delivery, reporting
  • Content selection, delivery, reporting
  • Measurement

RhythmOne, LLC

Privacy policy: https://www.rhythmone.com/privacy-policy

Purposes:

  • Measurement

Legitimate Interest Purposes:

  • Information storage and access
  • Personalisation
  • Ad selection, delivery, reporting
  • Content selection, delivery, reporting

Features:

  • Matching Data to Offline Sources
  • Linking Devices
  • Precise Geographic Location Data

OpenX Software Ltd. and its affiliates

Privacy policy: https://www.openx.com/legal/privacy-policy/

Purposes:

  • Information storage and access
  • Personalisation
  • Ad selection, delivery, reporting

Features:

  • Matching Data to Offline Sources
  • Linking Devices
  • Precise Geographic Location Data

The Rubicon Project, Limited

Privacy policy: http://rubiconproject.com/rubicon-project-yield-optimization-privacy-policy/

Purposes:

  • Information storage and access

Legitimate Interest Purposes:

  • Personalisation
  • Ad selection, delivery, reporting
  • Content selection, delivery, reporting
  • Measurement

Features:

  • Precise Geographic Location Data

Index Exchange, Inc.

Privacy policy: http://www.indexexchange.com/privacy

Purposes:

  • Information storage and access

Features:

  • Linking Devices
  • Precise Geographic Location Data

comScore, Inc.

Privacy policy: https://www.comscore.com/About-comScore/Privacy-Policy

Purposes:

  • Information storage and access
  • Measurement

Features:

  • Linking Devices

DoubleVerify Inc.​

Privacy policy: https://www.doubleverify.com/privacy/

Purposes:

  • Information storage and access
  • Measurement

LiveRamp, Inc.

Privacy policy: https://www.liveramp.com/service-privacy-policy/

Purposes:

  • Information storage and access
  • Personalisation
  • Ad selection, delivery, reporting
  • Content selection, delivery, reporting
  • Measurement

Features:

  • Matching Data to Offline Sources
  • Linking Devices

Taboola Europe Limited

Privacy policy: https://www.taboola.com/privacy-policy

Purposes:

  • Information storage and access

Legitimate Interest Purposes:

  • Personalisation
  • Ad selection, delivery, reporting
  • Content selection, delivery, reporting
  • Measurement

Features:

  • Matching Data to Offline Sources
  • Linking Devices

PubMatic, Inc.

Privacy policy: https://pubmatic.com/privacy-policy/

Purposes:

  • Information storage and access

Legitimate Interest Purposes:

  • Personalisation
  • Ad selection, delivery, reporting
  • Content selection, delivery, reporting
  • Measurement

Outbrain UK Ltd

Privacy policy: https://www.outbrain.com/legal/

Purposes:

  • Information storage and access
  • Personalisation
  • Ad selection, delivery, reporting
  • Measurement

Legitimate Interest Purposes:

  • Content selection, delivery, reporting

Features:

  • Matching Data to Offline Sources

EMX Digital LLC

Privacy policy: https://emxdigital.com/privacy/

Purposes:

  • Information storage and access
  • Personalisation

Legitimate Interest Purposes:

  • Ad selection, delivery, reporting
  • Content selection, delivery, reporting
  • Measurement

Features:

  • Linking Devices
  • Precise Geographic Location Data

Nielsen Marketing Cloud

Privacy policy: http://www.nielsen.com/us/en/privacy-statement/exelate-privacy-policy.html

Purposes:

  • Information storage and access
  • Personalisation

Legitimate Interest Purposes:

  • Measurement

Features:

  • Matching Data to Offline Sources
  • Linking Devices

Amazon Publisher Services

Privacy policy: https://ams.amazon.com/webpublisher/apsmanaged/apsagreement.html

Legitimate Interest Purposes:

  • Information storage and access
  • Personalisation
  • Ad selection, delivery, reporting
  • Content selection, delivery, reporting
  • Measurement

Google (DFP / AdX)

Privacy policy: https://adssettings.google.com/

Purposes:

  • Information storage and access
  • Personalisation
  • Ad selection, delivery, reporting
  • Content selection, delivery, reporting
  • Measurement