Nothing surpasses the original, especially when it once clung to the body of an icon.
At the Sept. 11 MTV Video Music Awards, Sabrina Carpenter not only kissed an alien, but also had an otherworldly moment on the red carpet. The “Espresso” singer delved into the fashion archives to find the strapless, V-neck Bob Mackie gown — covered in sequins, pearls, and crystals — that Madonna wore in 1991.
Mackie wrote on Instagram that Madonna first wore a sample of the dress for a Vanity Fair cover shoot. Days later, the “Material Girl” singer called him personally to request a modified version for the 1991 Academy Awards. Marilyn Monroe (of (Men prefer blondes) was Madonna’s inspiration at the Oscars.
Madge didn’t just perform in the custom-made dress — Stephen Sondheim’s “Sooner or Later” from Dick Tracywho won the Oscar for Best Original Song — but she was also there with Michael Jackson, which was a moment in itself. She later wore the dress again — in a photo for her book Sex.
Carpenter, who still has pop star status 30 years later, was a blonde bombshell at the VMAs when she won a Moon Person for Song of the Year in the vintage dress, which her stylist, Jared Ellner, sourced from Tab Vintage, a beloved celebrity-favorite dealer of archive fashions.
Tab owner Alexis Novak told Vogue: “Madonna still has the custom dress that Bob Mackie made for her in her archives, but the other example piece is the [dress] I believe we did that” and that Carpenter wore.
Before Carpenter, it was worn by fashion maven Fran Fine, played by Fran Drescher, on The babysitter 1994.
“When [costume designer] Brenda Cooper was looking for an Audrey Hepburn moment for the show, she went to Bob Mackie’s studio and found the example of this piece,” Novak told the same outlet.
Carpenter wasn’t alone in VIP vintage. Halsey showed off her animalistic allure on the VMAs carpet in a red Versace gown previously worn by model/actress Elizabeth Hurley in October 1996.
“It was literally a miracle to find this dress,” the singer said during the pre-show. “This dress was designed by Gianni Versace for Elizabeth Hurley in 1996, and it hasn’t been worn since. So from 1996 to now, and I’m just living it. I love it.”
Is it safe to bring up Blake Lively? Back in August, before things went south with the It ends with us press tour, the film’s star wore a Versace dress that Britney Spears had worn to the label’s 2002 fashion show. The shimmering, one-shoulder dress was covered in butterflies and sequined pink, blue, yellow and purple flowers.
According to TMZ, the dress wasn’t loaned out for the evening. Lively actually purchased it from Tab Vintage for just over $10,000. On social media, Lively expressed her appreciation for Spears’ contributions to entertainment, calling her “the ultimate queen who wanted to let us all shine and write and share our stories.”
Looking gorgeous in the same dress again is quite the trend right now. At this year’s Academy Awards, Sydney Sweeney played another movie star, wearing the same dress that Angelina Jolie wore to the same awards show in 2004. The archive dress by Marc Bouwer also paid homage to Marilyn Monroe (of The seven year itch).
The Everyone but you actress wrote on Instagram that “it was an honor to wear a piece of history.” She later told E! News, “It’s really cool to be able to wear such iconic, beautiful vintage pieces, and Angelina is a style icon.”
We’ve looked at a few tributes like this before in recent years, but perhaps the most famous was when Kim Kardashian wore Marilyn Monroe’s dress — the one she wore when she sang “Happy Birthday” to then-President John F. Kennedy in 1962 — to the 2022 Met Gala.
Though the dress was reportedly “permanently altered” — with the fabric appearing to be torn in places and crystal sequins missing — it gave Kardashian the Marilyn moment she craved … even though she only wore the dress for four minutes, changing into a replica once she climbed the stairs. (She also lost 16 pounds in three weeks, if you recall.)
Ripley’s Believe It or Not! paid a whopping $4.8 million for Monroe’s dress, making it one of the most expensive dresses ever sold. The reality star, who insisted she did not damage the dress, said, “I understand how much this dress means to American history.” (Ripley’s also denied the dress was damaged.)
That same year, singer Kelsea Ballerini arrived at the Academy of Country Music Honors wearing the famous white, sequined turtleneck that Shania Twain wore to the 1999 Grammy Awards. Ballerini — who borrowed the dress from the Grammy Museum — wore it as a tribute to Twain, who was honored at the show.
Twain loved the callback and then said, “I’m so overwhelmed. She looks beautiful. She looks like an absolute angel. It’s very flattering to see her in the dress and that she even wanted to wear it. I said, ‘I hope it’s not too stuffy after being in the [museum]””
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