Entertainment Awards Shows and Events VMAs All the Iconic Style Tributes and Throwbacks on the 2024 MTV VMAs Red Carpet From donning Madonna's vintage Bob Mackie to doing their best Britney, see every iconic fashion reference at the Video Music Awards By Alex Apatoff Alex Apatoff Alex Apatoff is the Executive Editor of PEOPLE Digital. She has worked at the brand since 2010, first on the style and beauty team and now in a cross-departmental role. People Editorial Guidelines Published on September 11, 2024 10:20PM EDT Comments Photo: MTV; getty The MTV Video Music Awards red carpet is always a time to make a major statement, and we love seeing the creative ways stars take a shot at red carpet history. At the 2024 VMAs, held at New York's UBS stadium, some stars went for stunts, some stars went for sheers — but these stars went for major statements via throwbacks and killer pop culture references. From Sabrina Carpenter in Madonna's vintage Bob Mackie to Megan Thee Stallion and Tate McRae doing their best Britney, see every iconic fashion reference at the Video Music Awards. 01 of 10 Sabrina Carpenter: Madonna Getty (2) Who wants to just reference Madonna when she can wear the actual gown the Queen of Pop wore to the Oscars more than 30 years ago? Sabrina Carpenter paired the vintage Bob Mackie gown with De Beers jewels for a moment that was also a little bit Marilyn. 02 of 10 Tate McRae: Britney Spears Getty (2) Oops, Tate McRae did it again! Brought back Britney Spears' iconic 2001 VMAs minidress, that is. McRae — who says it's "an honor" to draw comparisons to the pop diva — wore a Roberto Cavalli dress over Fleur du Mal lingerie that echoed Spears' navy minidress from the year she performed "Slave 4 U" with Banana the snake. 03 of 10 Halsey: Elizabeth Hurley Getty(2) “This dress was literally a miracle to find,” Halsey said on the VMAs pre-show of her scarlet leopard gown. “This dress was designed by Gianni Versace for Elizabeth Hurley in 1996, and it hasn’t been worn since. So from 1996 to me right now, and I’m just living it up. I’m loving it.” 04 of 10 Lil Nas X: Pink Power Ranger Getty; everett Lil Nas X always gives good red carpet, and this out-of-this-world look seemed particularly mighty (morphin'). 05 of 10 Snooki: Herself Getty (2) In her leopard mini and pouffy high ponytail, Snooki gave us instant flashbacks to her breakout Jersey Shore years. 06 of 10 GloRilla: Lisa 'Left Eye' Lopez Getty (2) From the unmistakable hairstyle to the bra top and wide-legged pants, GloRilla looked ready to chase waterfalls in an homage to the late member of TLC (pictured with T-Boz and Chilli at the 1999 VMAs). 07 of 10 Megan Thee Stallion: Britney Spears MTV; getty Many of the night's stars took inspiration from Britney (did you catch Sabrina Carpenter's "Oops..." reference in her performance?) — but none took it to the lengths that host Megan Thee Stallion did, putting on the bikini and boa constrictor from Spears' 2001 "Slave 4 U" performance. 08 of 10 Paris Hilton: Herself Getty (2) She may be a mom of two and business guru these days, but there's no way Paris Hilton could wear slinky silver chain mail (this is Celia Kritharioti Couture) and not make us think of her party-girl early aughts and her often-imitated, never-duplicated 21st birthday dress. 09 of 10 Addison Rae: Madonna Getty; SHUTTERSTOCK Addison Rae's custom look was just "a little bit Madonna" (among other things) — and this pose, recalling Madonna's infamous 1984 "Like a Virgin" performance, made the inspiration clear! 10 of 10 Megan Thee Stallion: Beyoncé Getty; NBC sports The night's host Megan Thee Stallion joked that she borrowed her Olympics-themed leotard from Simone Biles herself, but the internet saw another gold medal-worthy lookalike: Beyoncé's sexy look for her Olympics promo video. Close