Sabrina Carpenter paid homage to Cher on Sunday night, stepping out to her Studio 54–themed MTV VMAs afterparty in a vintage Bob Mackie costume first worn by the legendary singer on television in 1975.
The 26-year-old pop star wore a reflective, multicolored dress featuring pink, black and turquoise embellishment originally created for Cher’s appearance on The Cher Show. The gown was first seen during a duet of "Shame Shame Shame" in which Cher and Tina Turner appeared in matching dresses. Carpenter paired the vintage piece with voluminous curly hair, silver platform pumps and a full glam makeup look that included baby-doll lashes.
Earlier the same evening the singer, who won three MTV Moonman trophies including album of the year, appeared on the red carpet in another Mackie creation: "The Swamp Dress" from the designer’s 1986 spring collection. Designer Bob Mackie posted about Carpenter’s choices on Instagram, describing the red-carpet gown as "fully embellished cocktail dress multicolor sequin and navy bugle beaded on black silk with an asymmetric fringe hem."
Carpenter’s VMAs looks dovetailed with the retro themes that have animated her recent work. Her new album, Man’s Best Friend, draws on 1970s and 1980s fashion and pop-music aesthetics; critics and fans have compared its sound to acts such as ABBA and Madonna. The singer also referenced early-2000s pop theatrics during her VMAs performance of the single "Tears," wearing a bedazzled bra and performing while being drenched with water, a staging reminiscent of Britney Spears’ 2001 Dream Within a Dream Tour. Spears’ iconic early-2000s costume was also designed by Mackie.
Carpenter has recently been linked to other high-profile projects that highlight the persistence of Mackie’s showgirl look in contemporary pop. She was confirmed as a featured artist on Taylor Swift’s new album The Life of a Showgirl; Swift’s album cover features a bedazzled Mackie costume from the Las Vegas production Jubilee!, underscoring a continuing lineage from the designer’s midcentury showgirl aesthetic to today’s performers.
Photographs from the VMAs and the afterparty show Carpenter leaning into those connections, combining vintage couture with modern stagecraft and pop choreography. Observers noted the continuity between her red-carpet and afterparty choices: both dresses are heavily embellished, theatrical pieces that reflect Mackie’s decadeslong reputation for ornate, show-stopping costumes.
Mackie, whose designs were central to the visual identities of several major pop stars, acknowledged Carpenter’s use of his archival pieces on social media. The designer’s nods followed a larger trend at the VMAs where performers and attendees frequently borrowed from, referenced or revived vintage couture to underscore thematic presentations.
Carpenter’s evening combined award-show success with a deliberate sartorial program that connected her work to multiple eras of pop spectacle. By selecting two distinct Mackie looks for the same night — one for the televised awards and one for the Studio 54–themed afterparty — she underscored the role of costume in contemporary pop performance and the continuing influence of designers such as Bob Mackie on stage and red-carpet fashion.