Charli XCX was everyone's favorite reference on the 2025 Grammys red carpet. The British pop star truly pulled out all the stops for her long-overdue anointment at the ceremony, where she's nominated in seven categories for her album Brat and its singles, including "360," "Apple," "Von Dutch," and "Guess."
Styled for the occasion by frequent collaborator Chris Horan, the 32-year-old looked like she'd just finished a long night of clubbing in a hand-shredded dusty blue chiffon gown from Jean Paul Gaultier. She accessorized the custom Grammys red carpet corset dress with black cut-out thong sandal boots, diamond stud earrings, and a naked pedicure. But when the self-professed party girl takes the stage for a performance later in the evening, she'll likely change into something that allows her strut and jump around the stage more freely.
Her glam for the evening paired a feline matte brown smoky eye with nude lips and Cher-length brunette curls. Throughout her Brat era, Charli has been rocking her natural hair texture in a symbolic act of defiance. Seeing her reprise the style on the red carpet tonight was a delicious full-circle moment.
Charli XCX has attended the Grammy Awards twice before, but tonight marks her first time being nominated and asked to perform. Prior this album cycle, I would even go so far as to say she was beefing with the 67-year-old awards show.
Still, I don't think I fully appreciated just how far the pop star has come until I revisited her 2017 Grammys red carpet appearance. Don't get me wrong. She looked powerful and gorgeous in her ruby brocade Vivienne Westwood sweetheart-neckline dress and matching Gianvito Rossi ribbon stilettos. Timeless glamour is timeless for a reason! It's hard to imagine the self-assured Charli XCX we know today choosing to play it so safe, but it was an endearingly conservative choice for mid-twenties Charli.
There is a kind of glamour in the anti-glamour of Brat fashion, though. At the 2024 Met Gala, for example, the singer walked the red carpet in a bitchy punk-rock gown made from fifteen artfully shredded and draped white T-shirts. Dreamt into existence by Horan and Marni creative director Francesco Risso, the distressed patchwork dress was one of the evening's best interpretations of the chosen theme: “Sleeping Beauties: Reawakening Fashion.” Vampy eggplant-colored lipstick and a spiky Edward Scissorhands-esque updo tied the edgy ensemble together.
Charli also wore a custom Marni gown to the 2024 BRIT Awards, only a week after announcing the release of Brat. With a corset chest-plate and a dramatic train, the colorful creation mimicked the look of watercolor paints pooling together in a palette. Pinned hair kept the focus on her exaggerated cat-eye makeup, which paired taupe shadow with white liquid outline for an editorial take on winged liner.
It would be so gratifying to see Charli XCX sweep the 2025 Grammys. But no matter what happens, the hyper-pop pioneer will leave the ceremony with another iconic red carpet look under studded belt. She's just living that life.
