Bitch, I’m Sabrina!
Tonight Sabrina Carpenter hit the 2024 MTV VMAs red carpet in a dress quite literally made for a pop-star.
The singer, who racked up seven nominations—including for Artist of the Year and Song of the Year for “Espresso”—is celebrating her success in style, channelling the one and only Madonna. Carpenter and her stylist, Jared Ellner, turned to the celebrity-approved archival fashion hotspot Tab Vintage for a look that met the moment, and it’s safe to say they more than succeeded. “Her stylist Jared Ellner and his team reached out with a really incredible moodboard,” Tab’s owner Alexis Novak tells Vogue. “We sent them a deck of pieces we had in that vein and we’re so happy with what she decided on!”
For the VMAs, Carpenter and Ellner chose a silver beaded Bob Mackie dress from 1991. “It was originally designed for Madonna to wear to perform at the Academy Awards. It was inspired by Marilyn Monroe in Gentlemen Prefer Blondes and made headlines when she wore it,” Novak says.
But Madonna’s Oscars appearance wasn’t the dress’s only pop culture moment. It also appeared on the perrenially well-dressed Fran Fine on The Nanny, thanks to costume designer Brenda Cooper. “When Brenda Cooper was looking for an Audrey Hepburn moment for the show, she went to Bob Mackie’s studio and found the sample of this piece. Madonna still has the custom gown Bob Mackie made for her in her archive, but the other sample piece is the [dress] I believe we have.”
The singer went full Old Hollywood glamour for the VMAs. In addition to the silver beaded Bob Mackie, she added a diamond necklace which trailed down her chest, earrings and rings—all from De Beers.
For the after-party, Carpenter changed into a white, ’70s-inspired lace minidress from Tom Ford’s spring 1996 collection for Gucci. It also has a connection to a famous blonde: Kate Moss, who wore it on the runway. “It’s Ford’s ode to his favorite era in fashion history and his favorite designer, Halston. The entire runway collection was sexy, and chic, and minimalist, and rock and roll,” Novak says. “The lace sets had nothing underneath that felt so 1970s but still modern because of the colors of the panty underneath or the cuts of the silhouette.”
It’s safe to say that, between her homages to Madonna, Marilyn, and Kate, Sabrina Carpenter is proving that blondes do have more fun.
