It’s been five years since Lady Gaga pranced across the VMAs stage in a dress made of actual, raw meat. The memorable ensemble, which was preserved with dye and formaldehyde over the past half-decade, is now being displayed at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame through the end of the year. The Argentinian beef has since been dried, and sadly, the matching head gear doesn’t appear to have made it (how does this thing not smell yet?).
While obviously outlandish, Gaga’s dress was merely a blip on the journey to a point in time such as this where audiences don’t bat an eye at the sight of a 22-year-old who shows up basically nude on the VMA red carpet. Does that make her a trailblazer? No, Gaga is just one of many bold dressers to move the line. While it’s easy to blame the “We Can’t’ Stop” generation, we can’t forget those that came before them or their unbelievable fashion choices.
Cher at the Oscars in 1986
Do you be-lieeeeve in beads and Vegas headdresses? Just two years before Cher took home the Best Supporting Actress award for Moonstruck and wore an equally scandalous beaded ensemble, the star donned a different delightful Bob Mackie gown to walk the red carpet. The low-slung beaded skirt and cage-like crop top was only upstaged by the sheath of feathers covering her head. Rumors have long flown that Cher picked the look after the Academy sent out dress code notes before the big show.
Rose McGowan at the VMAs in 1998
Rose McGowan has made headlines lately for standing up to sexist casting call attire requests, but back in 1999 she showed up in the buff for the VMAs. McGowan’s “dress” looked more like a ripped fish net than a papparazzi-friendly outfit. Her date? Marilyn Manson. Need we say more?
Amber Rose (who pops up later on this list) even emulated the look for the show’s 2014 edition so, it must have made an impact.
Lil’ Kim at the VMAs in 1999
Not quite sure what happened to Lil’ Kim, but once upon a time she looked like this: purple-haired and nipple-pastied up. In a look designed by her then-stylist, Misa Hylton-Brim, Kim looked like Violet Beauregarde in a one-sleeved, purple sequined pant-suit. Fabric was noticeably missing over her left breast, so a sequined shell pasty took its place.
It didn’t take long for someone to get curious and handsy. Diana Ross couldn’t help but cop a feel while presenting the Best Hip Hop video award with the rapper, and jiggled her bare boob. GIF history was made.
Jennifer Lopez at the Grammy’s in 2000
A dress so famous that it’s in the Grammy Museum. Lopez hit the 2000 Grammy Awards in an exotic (and see through) green Versace silk and chiffon dress that we assume required a large roll of double-sided tape. Also fun to note, the sexy and barely-there ensemble is apparently responsible for Google images, so, thanks for that Jenny.
Take it away, Google executive chairman Eric Schmidt:
“When Google was launched, people were amazed that they were able to find out about almost anything by typing just a few words into a computer. It was better than anything else, but not great by today’s standards. So our co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin – like all other successful inventors – kept iterating. After all, 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 sure-fire way of getting users exactly what they wanted: JLo wearing that dress. Google Image Search was born.”
Björk at the Oscars in 2001
Another sartorial delight that’s since been added to the museum circuit: Björk’s swan Oscar dress. The dress, which made the star appear to have a swan draped around her neck, was created by Macedonian designer Marjan Pejoski. The dress was created in a variety of fabrics, including suede leather, down, woolen felt, and both goose feathers and swan feathers, according to comments made by Pejoski to The New York Post.
So why the swan? It wasn’t designed for just Björk – it premiered earlier that year in Pejoksi’s runway collection. “The whole narrative that season was inspired by the motion of a merry-go-round, with all these different animals. The swan was a part of that,” he said. “Björk loved it.”
Also, Björk fully committed to her character and brought six ostrich eggs with her to the Oscars, which she then scattered about on the red carpet. Why does the best part of the story get so often overlooked?
Rihanna at the CFDAs in 2014
At this point, it’s safe to assume that everyone on earth knows that Rihanna’s attractive. But just in case you were still unsure, bad girl RiRi herself is here to remind you. For the CFDA Awards in 2014, Rihanna donned an Adam Selman gown and nothing else. And when we say gown we mean bedazzled plastic bag.
Selman hand-applied the dress’s nearly 230,000 Swarovski crystals to get that sparkly sheen, but unfortunately even the gems were outshone by two other round things (wink, wink).
Amber Rose and Blac Chyna at the VMAs in 2015
While Miley Cyrus was prancing around stage in an eyeball bra, the always outspoken Amber Rose didn’t mince words on the red carpet. Joined by Blac Chyna, Rose wore a nude bodysuit painted with grafitti words like “gold digger,” “slut,” and more. It’s easy to assume the looks were likely a response to Rose’s epic Twitter altercation with ex Yeezy from earlier this year.
Pictures speak louder than words, err, well, maybe not in this case.
