The Worst-Dressed Stars At The 2024 VMAs

As we bid adieu to the summer months, we welcome in the most wonderful time of the year: award season. What better way to unofficially kick off the red carpet busy season than with the MTV Video Music Awards? This show is known for honoring our favorite music and those who make it happen, as well as having a history of some very iconic moments. 

Like the show, itself, the red carpet fashion is often playful, bold, and full of pre-award season excitement. This year's red carpet was no exception, and as music's biggest stars and other familiar faces hit the red carpet, they debuted iconic looks — some good and some very, very not good.

What would a red carpet be without a worst-dressed list? We certainly can't imagine, so we must thank the stars populating our list for rocking some truly confusing ensembles at the VMAs this year. From half tutus to head-to-toe red cheetah print and way, way more exposed underwear than anyone could have expected, get ready for the glitz, the glamour, and plenty of sheer fabric: the VMAs worst dressed list is here!

We've gotta hand it to Karol G — this is one very creative way to ensure folks will leave fire emojis on your outfit Instagram post even if the outfit in question isn't great. Karol G's lovely hair and makeup would have looked so much better with a simpler ensemble. This fire-inspired dress just didn't work. The colors, the cartoonish flames, and worst of all, the collar — it's difficult to know what exactly this dress was going for, but whatever it was, it was a flop. 

It seems that DJ Khaled misunderstood the dress code for the Video Music Awards. By the look of his matching Bottega Veneta set, it appears that he thought his ensemble should be inspired by his favorite item in his bathroom, and when he couldn't decide between his bath mat, and his bottle of Pepto Bismol, he went with something that honored both. While the vibe of this easy breezy two-piece set could have worked, the color and texture of the fabric were all wrong. 

There were plenty of lingerie-inspired looks on the VMAs red carpet, and country legend Miranda Lambert seemingly got this memo. Her execution, however, was way off. Lambert took a simple black suit and jazzed the top half up about as much as possible. The intricate turquoise collar with lots of turquoise jewelry seemed over-the-top enough, yet she also put her turquoise bejeweled bra on display underneath the jacket. Furthermore, the pants seemed to have a strange fit, looking overly baggy at the bottom, and making this look a head-to-toe miss. 

Clearly Chanel West Coast was hoping to rock a lingerie-inspired look. Instead of stylishly pulling off a corset top on the red carpet, however, we thought her bra was a barred owl staring right at us. The top of this dress is surely enough to scare away humans and small rodents, alike, but somehow the bottom is even worse. It looks like broken chainmail hanging from a collection of pipe cleaners. Unfortunately, there's no salvaging this one, and it must go back to the community theater costume closet from whence it came. 

TikTok star Eli Rallo's book, "I Didn't Know I Needed This," came out last year. However, there are seemingly some things Rallo still doesn't know she needs — like in this case, an entirely new dress for the VMAs. This look had way too many things going on to begin with since the top and bottom of this gown felt like two entirely different dresses. Her styling made it even more confusing and incongruous. Both the sleek, half-up hair and the glitzy shoes had two totally different vibes than the dress itself.

Halsey just heard the song "Lady in Red" and decided to reimagine it as a horror movie. With the help of this Versace gown, she'll be playing the lead role, which just so happens to be a cheetah. We kid, but we can't imagine any other reason to sport this outfit. Apparently, a big, red cheetah print isn't statement-making enough, so the dress is also sheer and has confusing stripes of glitter. Of course, the fire engine red hair made this look much worse. 

TikToker Samantha Mowery has a following for her fashion statements and apparent love of all things Y2K-inspired. Without that context, though, her VMA look seemed like a repurposed prom dress gone wrong. Between the print, colors, and a hemline that reminded us of the ribbon dancing craze of the early aughts (IYKYK), this dress had too many distracting elements. Still, like so many questionable frocks, with the right styling, Mowery likely could have pulled this dress off. Her long, wavy hair and tiny, gold shoulder bag, however, were definitely not the right styling. 

To put it simply, unlike her song, Addison Rae's VMAs look was not "2 die 4." It looked like equal parts bride, ballerina, and lingerie from 1975. These elements don't go together, nor are they particularly fit for the VMAs. We commend her confidence to hit the red carpet in basically her underwear, but it doesn't outweigh the bad fashion at play. Why the half tutu? Why the classic David's Bridal shoes? Most importantly, why the strange bra shape? These questions are sure to haunt us all for VMAs to come.

While Addison Rae had one of the most peculiar ensembles at the VMAs, when it came to showing off her undies on the red carpet, she was in good company. A bold move like wearing a barely-there ensemble to the VMAs can be a welcome fashion statement. However, Tate McRae's lacy, see-through minidress was not. Pop on a black headband with some triangular ears, and McRae would fit right in as a cat at a frat party on Halloweekend. For the VMAs, though, this didn't work. 

Benson Boone proved that strange, see-through style wasn't just for the ladies on this red carpet. The star may be known for his song "Beautiful Things," but that subject matter wasn't reflected in this ensemble. This shirt likely would have worked great as a layering piece, especially if left untucked with different pants. This styling, however, just didn't feel right. When paired with glittering silver shoes, it was hard to see what Boone's vision could have been.

Since the Olympics, Jordan Chiles has proven that she stuns on and off the gymnastics mat, but on the VMAs red carpet, she left us confused. Elements of this dress' unique silhouette were interesting, but it was outweighed by the many, many details. The sheen of the silver fabric, the long gloves and high neck, the uneven hem, the red, black, and white stripes, and the over-the-knee socks: It's major sensory overload. A shortened, even hemline with no gloves or socks, could have been a cool and unique look. But, this version is too much.

Suki Waterhouse often channels vintage glam vibes, and she seemed to be going for this on the VMAs red carpet, as well. Unfortunately, she didn't pull it off in this 'fit like she usually does. Everything about this look just felt a little bit off. The dress looked baggy and wrinkly, and the boa-esque bolero top just didn't seem to go with it. Furthermore, she styled it with black pumps fit for a business meeting. Still, it's impressive that this look somehow made a giant furry turtleneck feel boring. 

No one needs to ask Teddy Swims what his favorite Taylor Swift album is after this red carpet look: it's clearly "The Tortured Poets Department." While the star looks like he took a page from Taylor's book-inspired Eras Tour dress, it just doesn't work quite as well in trench coat form. In reality, though, it was the all-white look, layers of jewelry, and red sunglasses that really made this coat look like too much, and it could have felt cool and fresh paired with more pared-down elements.