The VMAs are the one award show where dressing campy and out of the box is not only the norm, it is very much encouraged. This year’s red carpet saw tons of looks but there was one colour that stood out simply due to the sheer volume of guests that were wearing it. Red. Lots and lots of red.

 

We saw Sabrina Carpenter in red earlier, one of the sexiest baddies around, but speaking of baddies, look no further than the Love Island USA alum who looked drop dead beautiful in Cheney Chan and Femme. One of MTV’s signature moves over the years has been inviting super models like Cindy Crawford and Tyra Banks to the show to give it that extra kick of glamour. In 2025 when supermodels aren’t nearly as impactful as they once were, it’s reality stars who have come in to take that torch. When the stars are as f-cking gorgeous as Olandria Carthen however, I can absolutely get behind it. 

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It’s pretty incredible that just a few short months ago the season 7 cast of Love Island USA were just regular people trying to build their social media followings and now we are witnessing some of them becoming relevant media personalities. I for one will always encourage as much Olandria content as possible. Here’s to the essential Bama Barbie slaying more carpets in the future. 

 

Ciara opted for chic yet comfortable in Schiaparelli looking fabulous as ever, but it’s the plexi- cut Gianvito Rossi stilettos that truly got my attention here. I’m no fashion girlie by any means, but even I know that nothing makes an outfit as fierce as a good pair of Italian stilettos. Thank you for the lesson Carrie Bradshaw. The shoes being a clear colour help keep the focus on the red outfit, which fits with the red logo MTV went with for this year’s event. Her latest album CiCi has a red background as the cover as well – whether or not those factors came into play are to be debated but either way she looks incredible. Ciara’s elevated style in recent years is always a sure thing on a red carpet, the woman knows how to serve a look. 

 

Some ladies took the red memo and made something exquisite while others just fell flat. I wouldn’t expect Sexyy Red to give me anything to write home about by any means, but the devil spandex suit was plain old tacky. Having said that, seeing Sexyy pose for a photo with Jessica Simpson is definitely not something I ever had on my bingo card for this year, but I’m kind of obsessed with the crossover. 

 

FKA twigs, on the other hand, while certainly serving body-ody, seems to be wearing what I can only describe as looking like an alligator print Birkin bag cut into a two-piece costume. You can disagree with me if you choose of course, she still looks incredible, the outfit just isn’t doing it for me. The good news for FKA is that while the outfit may not be the most glamorous, her hairstyle gets 10s from me as her hair is braided into the form of a pair of headphones. 

 

With hair as fabulous as that who really gives a sh-t about the outfit anyway. She gets an A+ for creativity on that one. 

 

Olandria Carthen, Ciara, Sexxy Red, and FKA twigs attended the 2025 MTV Video Music Awards on September 7, 2025.
Photo credits: Jorge Estrellado/ Image Press Agency/ Steven Bergman/ AFF-USA.COM/ MEGA/ WENN, Jeremy Smith/ imageSPACE/ Stephen Lovekin/ Shutterstock

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