Sabrina Carpenter knows her references, and it showed on the 2025 Grammy Awards red carpet. The Polly Pocket lookalike clearly understood the sartorial assignment for her first-ever appearance at the show, where she's nominated in six categories for her album Short 'n Sweet and its record-breaking singles: "Espresso" and "Please Please Please."
Styled for the debut by wunderkind Jared Ellner, the 26-year-old wore a custom, backless baby blue silk gown by JW Anderson embellished with tiers of tonal blue feathers. She accessorized the halter dress with a Chopard 50-carat brilliant-cut diamond pendant necklace that trailed down her back. But we can definitely expect a costume change later in the evening, when the hitmaker takes the stage for a performance.
As for her glam, Carpenter stuck to her beauty signatures: glowing skin, flushed statement cheeks, pouty lips, and a Brigitte Bardot-coded blowout with bouncy blonde bangs. Makeup artist Carolina Gonzalez also applied a hint of baby-pink blush for the extra-special occasion.
Usually, the star channels one of two aesthetic vibes: siren or babydoll. What unites the two sides of her personal style, though, is an overarching obsession with nostalgia. Memorably, Carpenter paid homage to pop icon Madonna by pulling the exact strapless white sequin gown she wore to the 1991 Oscars for the MTV VMAS 2024 red carpet.
And that's not the only way in which the look honored pop music through the ages. The stunning corset dress with a scalloped sweetheart neckline happened to be an archival design by Bob Mackie, the genius designer behind many of Cher's greatest outfits. Glossy red ombré lips and platinum curls styled with a deep side-part, meanwhile, made the vision complete.
Even when she's wearing contemporary clothing, Carpenter strives to emulate It girls from other eras. At the 2024 Vanity Fair Oscar Party, for instance, the pop star walked the red carpet in a custom Tory Burch two-piece that layered a black croc-embossed bodysuit with a shimmering see-through skirt. The slip dress silhouette, along with her lived-in Claudia Schiffer-inspired hair, recalled the trends and supermodels of the '90s. The gown's gauzy sheerness, however, tapped into her penchant for lingerie-inspired dressing on tour. The design was an elongated version of a Spring/Summer 2024 runway standout originally modeled by Emily Ratajkowski. With a few pivotal styling choices, though, Carpenter made it completely her own.
Carpenter's big night at the 2025 Grammys will go down in history. And so will her dazzling red carpet debut.
