For celebs, red carpets are technically just very glamorous work events. However, instead of suits and blazers, their dress code is open to artistic interpretation, and they can bare as much as they dare.
Here are 30 interesting facts about famous risqué red carpet looks:
1.
At the 2026 Grammys, Chappell Roan wore a custom Mugler dress that appeared to hang from a pair of nipple piercings. However, they weren’t real! The “pastie prosthetics” and tattoos were done by SFX artists Sasha Glasser, Malina Stearns, and Chelsea Delfino.
According to Pop Sugar, Sasha pierced the jewelry directly through the Out of Kit prosthetics, which were intentionally designed without nipples “to give a Barbie-like effect.”
2.
For the 2024 VMAs, Genesis Webb styled Chappell Roan like a medieval princess in a sheer Y/Project dress. Two of her accessories were hundreds of years old!
Chappell told MTV, “That robe that I had on — it’s gone — was 300 years old. And then the rug that was rolled out is 600 years old.”
He told Vanity Fair, “I was going home for a walk from the office, it was right after the jewels had been stolen from the Louvre. And I was like, ‘Wouldn’t it be nice to reimagine the Louvre jewels that were stolen?’ … We made it more three-dimensional.”
And here’s a bonus fact about Teyana — she doesn’t use a stylist! On Instagram, jewelry designer Lisa Eisner said, “I have been following Teyana for years now because of her crazy amazing original style. And she gave us an ear full about never using a stylist because she wants that experience of one on one with the Designer. And she knows what she wants. This is very rare as you may know. Style is something that seems to be endangered on the red carpet and with celebrities, I mean you either have it or you don’t and I’m sure they have other things to think about, so when there is a unicorn like @teyanataylor it’s so exciting! She is her own person from head to toe. Felt like I can’t wait till you can record someone with a blink of your eye and it just records.”
4.
Heidi Klum wore a molded and lacquered leather Marina Hoermanseder dress that looked like her nude body to the 2026 Grammys.
On Instagram, the designer shared a behind-the-scenes look at the dress’s creation. She started with a digital 3D model of Heidi’s body, which she then adjusted into a dress mold. Once the physical model came out of the milling machine, the designer and her team molded leather around it with hair dryers and tied it up to dry. After construction was finished, they painted it to match Heidi’s skin tone.
5.
At the 2014 CFDA Fashion Awards, Rihanna went braless in a Swarovski crystal-adorned fishnet dress designed by Adam Selman. She told Vogue, “I just liked it better without the lines underneath. Could you imagine the CFDA dress with a bra? I would slice my throat. I already wanted to, for wearing a thong that wasn’t bedazzled. That’s the only regret I have in my life.”
She then clarified that, “yes,” wearing a thong that wasn’t bedazzled to the CFDA Awards was her only regret.
6.
After the 2000 Grammys, so many people searched for Jennifer Lopez’s green Versace gown that it inspired the creation of Google Images.
In a piece for Project Syndicate, former Google CEO/executive chairperson Eric Schmidt wrote, “People wanted more than just text. This first became apparent after the 2000 Grammy Awards, where Jennifer Lopez wore a green dress that, well, caught the world’s attention. At the time, it was the most popular search query we had ever seen. But we had no surefire way of getting users exactly what they wanted: JLo wearing that dress. Google Image Search was born.”
7.
At the 1998 VMAs, Rose McGowan wore a Maja Hanson “chainmail” dress. She told Yahoo Entertainment, “It was my first big public appearance after being sexually assaulted. I just felt like, ‘Oh, Hollywood, would you want a body just that you can use and throw away? Then I’ve got one for you!’ It was like at the end of Gladiator when he comes out, and he’s like, ‘Are you not entertained?'”
“And if you look at me, I did it with power. I didn’t do it with my hand on my hip to be sexy. … Most of the women that are dressed like that on the red carpet, it’s a calculated, sexy move to turn people on. Mine was like, ‘I’m gonna fuck with your brain. I’m going to blow your brain up.’ And nobody had done it,” she said.
8.
Megan Fox’s Mugler dress from the 2021 VMAs was widely compared to Rose McGowan’s look. The dress was her then-partner MGK’s idea.
She told Entertainment Tonight, “He was like, ‘You’re gonna be naked tonight.’ I was like, ‘Whatever you say, daddy!'”
9.
Elizabeth Hurley stole the spotlight at the 1994 Four Weddings and a Funeral premiere in “That Dress” — aka, the instantly iconic black Versace gown with gold safety pins. In the documentary Hugh Grant: A Life on Screen, Hugh Grant, her boyfriend at the time, said, “There was a big premiere, and someone told us, ‘Oh you can borrow things from top designers.’ Poor Elizabeth rang some top designers, and they all said, ‘No, who are you?’ or ‘No, we’re not lending you anything.’ Then Versace said, ‘Yes, we’ll lend you a dress,’ and they just sent one ’round, which is that one with the safety pins. So, she shoved it on, and I raised my eyebrows a fraction, and we set off.”
Elizabeth told People, “Well, the funny thing is, actually, with all couture clothes, is that even though they look daring and whatever, they’re so grounded on your body. So that’s probably the first incredibly expensive dress I’d ever put on in my life… It was constructed in the most extraordinary way. Before I left the house, I bent down and touched my toes and stretched and wiggled, and nothing moved, because you don’t need to know why nothing moves, but they’re all held together somewhere … It looked incredibly daring, but it was actually completely safe. Like wearing the bathrobe, really.”
10.
Gwyneth Paltrow went braless in her sheer “goth” Alexander McQueen gown at the 2002 Oscars. In a Goop Q&A, she said, “There were a few issues; I still love the dress itself, but I should have worn a bra, and I should have just had simple beachy hair and less makeup. Then, it would have worked as I wanted it to — a little bit of punk at the Oscars.”
The dress sparked backlash. Nearly 20 years later, she told Vogue, “I had a weird hangover about it for a while because people were really critical. I think at the time it was too goth, I think people thought it was too hard, so I think it sort of shocked people. But I like it.”
11.
At the 2019 Vanity Fair Oscars afterparty, Zoë Kravitz paired a mesh Tiffany & Co. bralette with a long Saint Laurent skirt. The bra top was made from 18K gold, and it cost $24,000.
However, the top wasn’t the most expensive item she wore that night! She had a stack of five platinum bracelets with diamonds valued from $15,000 to a whopping $55,000.
12.
At the 2021 Met Gala, Zoë Kravitz wore a “pretty bold and very sparkly” Saint Laurent bra and panties under a bejeweled dress overlay. She wanted to expand on the sparkly bralettes she’s known for, so she worked with creative director Anthony Vaccarello to develop the idea.
Zoë told British Vogue, “We then talked about how to elevate the look, because it is just so risqué.” So, they turned to Jessica McCormack, a diamond jewelry designer and the actor’s close friend.
13.
At the 2015 Met Gala, Beyoncé stunned in a Givenchy gown studded with Swarovski crystals. Her stylist at the time, Ty Hunter, told WWD, “A lot of the rhinestones and gems, the rocky crystals, they were very heavy. It looked like the lightest ones because she looked naked under it, but it was one of the heaviest.”
“You want everybody to say how great everything is, but we kind of have a system where, as long as you feel happy and confident, it shows. That’s why when Beyoncé’s on the carpets, she has so much confidence. She felt comfortable and loved the dress and showed it to the world,” he said.
14.
At the 2022 Met Gala, Cara Delevingne wore a red Dior suit, but beneath the jacket, she was topless and covered in gold body paint, taking the “Gilded Glamour” dress code literally. Her makeup artist, Romy Soleimani, told Vanity Fair, “An old J’Adore perfume ad had Charlize [Theron] painted in gold, so that was a starting point.”
And in case you’re wondering how the gold paint didn’t get all over her designer duds: To make sure it was transfer-proof, Romy combined the pigment with a liquid mixing medium.
15.
At the 39th Annual Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony in 2024, Zendaya wore a 2001 Bob Mackie coat and dress. Styled by Law Roach, the look paid homage to another legend — the one and only Cher.
It was inspired by this Bob Mackie look Cher wore on The Cher Show in 1975.
16.
At the 1974 Met Gala, Cher wore a “naked illusion” Bob Mackie dress. She was one of the first celebrities to wear such a style on the red carpet. The designer told Interview, “The place went crazy. I’ve never seen so many photographers just come out of the shadows at the Met and take her picture. And of course, she was in every newspaper the next day, and they’ve been printing it in the last 50 years, over and over again. But it was just amazing. People were horrified, they thought, that’s not fashion, she’s just naked at the Metropolitan.”
He continued, “And then all of a sudden they put it in Vogue magazine. That was in December, and then by February, Cher was in that dress on the cover of Time. How often do you get a girl that looks like that, dressed like that, on the cover of Time magazine? Usually, it was some funny old Russian man who everybody hated, so it was just the weirdest thing. They were pulling them off the newsstands in the South and tearing off the front cover; it was just shocking.”
17.
At the 2021 Cannes Film Festival, Bella Hadid wore a Schiaparelli Haute Couture dress with an intricate “lung necklace.” She told Vogue, “I always knew I was gonna wear this dress. When I saw this dress, I was really worried about how it would hold. It’s also a bit wintery, this dress, so it was very hot out. It was a work of art. When I would look down, you could see everything, so it was very bizarre walking onto the carpet with a breeze in places you wouldn’t usually have a breeze.”
“The necklace wasn’t as heavy as one would expect. It was actually quite fine, honestly. I think I did a little cup check before I got out of the car, and that was it. I was like, ‘If it’s going to happen, it’s going to happen now. So, I’m about to walk this carpet, and if in five minutes from now, there are pictures of my breasts everywhere, then that’s what was supposed to happen.'”
18.
Then, Bella Hadid wore a sheer Saint Laurent dress to the 2024 Cannes Film Festival. The gown was part of Anthony Vaccarello’s 2024 fall collection, which coincided with the Sheer: The Diaphanous Creations of Yves Saint Laurent exhibit at the Yves Saint Laurent Museum.
Discussing his inspiration for the collection, the designer told WWD, “I wanted to do something very fragile.”
19.
Lil’ Kim’s purple jumpsuit and nipple cover combo — styled by Misa Hylton — from the 1999 VMAs was born from a joke Missy Elliott made. She told People, “My nipples used to pop out so much on their own. They said something in a movie and made it look like it was planned — it was never planned. The girls used to laugh at me, and Missy said, ‘Girl, your nipples pop out so much. One day, you need to just come outside with one nipple out.’ We were laughing, but Misa’s lightbulb went off, and she just went from there. How the whole lavender wig came out was funny.”
“[The hairstylist] oversaturated something, and the whole blonde wig came out lavender. She was so stressed because we were literally 45 or 30 minutes away from showtime. She was like, ‘Misa, oh my God. I have to redo the hair, the whole wig is lavender.’ Misa was like, ‘Did you say lavender? Kim’s outfit is lavender. It’s perfect!’ And I’m always with the shit. I was like, ‘Let’s do it! Put it on me.’ I’m always excited to see what I’ll look like in different colors,” she said.
20.
At the 2019 Met Gala, Kim Kardashian wore a wet-look Mugler outfit that consisted of a corset by Mr. Pearl beneath silicone-covered silk organza. On Instagram, she shared that she had to take “corset breathing lessons from none other than Mr. Pearl.”
She also told the Wall Street Journal, “I have never felt pain like that in my life. I’ll have to show you pictures of the aftermath when I took it off — the indentations on my back and my stomach.”
21.
At the 2023 Met Gala, Kim Kardashian wore a Schiaparelli look composed of 50,000 freshwater pearls draped over a molded corset top and a draped skirt, which were covered in 16,000 crystals.
Crafting the outfit took more than 1,000 hours.
22.
At the 2017 Met Gala, Kendall Jenner wore a La Perla gown that was made with no fabric at all! It was crafted from 85,000 crystals in three shades of black on a single thread. The body was constructed through a combination of macramé and painted lace.
La Perla director Julia Haart told E! News, “When I created the dress, it was made with [Kendall] in mind. The number encompasses what the star represents — it’s sensual and revealing, but also simple and easy.”
23.
Doja Cat wore a wet T-shirt by Vetements to the 2024 Met Gala. She told Vogue, “The aesthetic is ‘fuck you’ in a way. I like how that sounds. It feels sexy and fun and different and refreshing to me to kind of go in a wet T-shirt, butt ass naked to the Met Gala.”
Unlike most “wet-look” red carpet ensembles, Doja’s shirt was actually wet! She told E! News, “I’m actually wet right now. I’m not supposed to give the secret, but it’s hair gel. It’s all hair gel, and it’s all over. I’m probably going to sit in the chair wet all night.”
24.
Julia Fox wore a sheer Dilara Findikoglu dress with strategically placed hair extensions at the 2025 Vanity Fair Oscars Party. The design was inspired by the famous painting “The Birth of Venus” by Sandro Botticelli.
It came from Dilara’s “Venus From Chaos” collection. She told WWD, “Fashion is not how it used to be anymore — there needs to be more fantasy. I wish people pushed boundaries more — every time I look at a collection on the runways, it looks like the same thing, without shading anybody. Sometimes I really consider if I should just make art.”
25.
At the 1997 Oscars, Jenny McCarthy wore a Valentino gown, but she accidentally put it on backwards!
She told Live with Kelly and Mark, “Well, the funny thing is, I went to the Oscars once. They invited me when I was the It girl. They invite the It girl each year. I only was invited once, obviously. But I literally was working at a Polish grocery store a year and a half prior to me going to the Oscars, so I just didn’t know much. They put me in a Valentino dress — I didn’t know I wore the dress backwards. Valentino comes up to me…I said, ‘Oh my God, Valentino, thank you for letting me borrow this dress!’ He goes, ‘You’re wearing it backwards.’ I was like, ‘Ohhhh….’ But you know what, it doesn’t surprise me. I was smelling like Polish sausage still from working the deli!”
26.
Six hundred hours of labor went into Dove Cameron’s skeletal Iris van Herpen look from the 2022 Met Gala. She told Harper’s Bazaar, “They tried to make it to my measurements before it got to New York, but, of course, they had to alter it. The whole dress is being held together by the finest mesh in the world. Like, we’re talking spiderweb-thin.”
She continued, “All of these pieces are metal-backed. They have fabric on top, which is what makes the arm pieces stand out and what makes everything hold in place. But literally one snag, and the dress would be ruined. So when they were pinning it on me to alter it, we were pinning, and I was holding a pose [with arms raised and elbows bent] for over two hours. … It was so delicate that anytime anybody breathed — me or the tailor or anybody pinning — it was a threat to the dress. … But when they went to take the dress off, they had pinned through my skin.”
27.
At the 2022 VMAs, Anitta wore a Schiaparelli gown with an asymmetrical corset that only covered one side of her chest. On the other side, she wore an anatomical heart pendant held in place by a necklace.
She chose the look to represent her love for her home country. She told Vogue, “I loved this dress from the moment I saw it walking down the Schiaparelli runway at their Paris couture show. I knew I needed to wear it. I especially loved the detailing on the heart, how it covers my chest like veins. The vein detailing over my heart signifies my love for Brazil.”
28.
Dua Lipa went braless in a fishnet Bottega Veneta gown at the Barbie premiere in 2023. The look was inspired by her character, Mermaid Barbie.
She told Vogue, “It’s very sparkly and fun, and I just thought it would match my mermaid character in Barbie, so I just went with that.”
29.
At the Valentino Haute Couture Fall/Winter 22–23 fashion show, Florence Pugh wore a sheer, hot pink gown from the fashion house. Sharing the look on Instagram, she said, “Technically they’ re covered? Feeling magical in @maisonvalentino 🌸 @pppiccioli you absolute genius. Stunning. Stunning. Stunning evening. Thank you again, my beautiful team, for making my pink princess dreams come true.”
In a series of follow-up posts, she called out trolls who commented on her body. She said, “Listen, I knew when I wore that incredible Valentino dress that there was no way there wouldn’t be a commentary on it. I was excited to wear it, not a wink of me was nervous. I wasn’t before, during or even now after. What’s been interesting to watch and witness is just how easy it is for men to totally destroy a woman’s body, publicly, proudly, for everyone to see. You even do it with your job titles and work emails in your bio..?”
30.
And finally, after Paris Jackson wore a sheer black dress to Stella McCartney’s Womenswear Fall/Winter 2025–2026 show during Paris Fashion Week, she publicly called out the critics from her comments section. On her Instagram story, she said, “I’ve gotten a lot of mixed reviews with my choice of clothing for the Stella McCartney show. I’d just like to point out that everyone’s entitled to their own opinion.”
She continued, “And, we’re animals. At one point, we abided by the laws of nature, we were hunting, we were gathering. It was kill or be killed. There was a harmony. There was a circle of life, and things worked really, really well for the whole planet until, one day, humans decided we’re not animals, we’re gonna wear clothes, we’re gonna rule over all the other animals, and we’re gonna wear clothes, and we’re gonna be different. That’s when shit got bad. So that being said, I don’t really understand why the human body is a driving force for such discomfort in so many people. Like, it’s just a body. It’s just a body…on a human, which is an animal. We look at other naked animals all the time. We’ve all got bodies. It’s not that big of a deal, and we’ve got bigger fish to fry.”
What’s your favorite look from this list? Let us know in the comments!
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