MTV Video Music Awards 2022: Best fashion from the red carpet

Megan C. Hills, CNN Photo editor: Austin Steele, CNN

The 2022 MTV Video Music Awards got underway Sunday evening, with stars including Lizzo and Blackpink stepping out onto the red carpet for the big night.

Compared with Hollywood’s award ceremonies, the VMAs often see attendees letting loose and showing off their personalities, typically choosing fun, sultry or experimental outfits over formal suits and ballgowns. Fashion history has also been made here, such as Lil’ Kim’s one-sleeved purple jumpsuit and seashell nipple pastie in 1999 or Lady Gaga’s infamous meat dress in 2010.

This year’s event, held at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey, saw performances by the likes of Bad Bunny and Nicki Minaj, with Jack Harlow and LL Cool J hosting. Celebrity fashion watchers also had much to celebrate as style darlings including Taylor Swift, Lil Nas X and Becky G arrived in show-stopping ensembles.

Many stars dressed in dark hues to match this year’s “black carpet” — though they brought outfits to life with fetishwear-inspired accessories, such as singer Dove Cameron’s thick leather choker, or flashes of color, like Sabrina Carpenter’s rainbow embellishments.

Stars also dared to bare, with celebrities including Ashley Graham, Tate McRae and Blackpink’s Jennie all flashing their midriffs. Anitta and Victoria de Angelis of Maneskin, meanwhile, paid apparent homage to Lil’ Kim’s famed 1999 VMAs outfit with fashionable nipple covers.

Some of the evening’s men bared their torsos, too. And gender-fluid fashion brought a certain softness to the menswear ensembles, with Maneskin’s Ethan Torchio donning a sheer corset, Conan Gray billowing past in a lace-train Harris Reed outfit and Bob the Drag Queen twirling in a white skirt, which he matched with a plaid blazer and waistcoat.

Top image: Lizzo (Dia Dipasupil/Getty Images)

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