Nothing beats the unique — particularly if it as soon as clung to the physique of an icon.

On the Sept. 11 MTV Video Music Awards, Sabrina Carpenter made out with an alien but in addition had an out-of-this-world second on the purple carpet. The “Espresso” singer dug into the style archives for her Bob Mackie strapless, V-neckline robe — lined with sequins, pearls and crystals — that Madonna wore in 1991.

Mackie wrote on Instagram that Madonna first wore a pattern of the robe for a Self-importance Honest cowl shoot. Days later, the “Materials Woman” singer known as him personally to request a customized model for the 1991 Academy Awards. Marilyn Monroe (from Gents Want Blondes) was Madonna’s inspiration on the Oscars.

Not solely did Madge carry out within the customized costume — Stephen Sondheim’s “Sooner or Later” from Dick Tracy, which received the Oscar for Greatest Unique Music — however she additionally attended with Michael Jackson, which was a second in itself. She later wore the customized costume once more — in a photograph for her guide Intercourse.

Carpenter, carrying the pop star torch over 30 years later, was a blond bombshell on the VMAs as she collected a Moon Particular person for Music of the 12 months within the pattern model of the classic costume, which her stylist, Jared Ellner, secured from Tab Classic, a celebrity-loved archival style seller.

Tab proprietor Alexis Novak instructed Vogue, “Madonna nonetheless has the customized robe Bob Mackie made for her in her archive, however the different pattern piece is the [dress] I imagine we now have” and that Carpenter wore.

Earlier than Carpenter, it was worn by fashionista Fran Positive, performed by Fran Drescher, on The Nanny in 1994.

“When [costume designer] Brenda Cooper was on the lookout for an Audrey Hepburn second for the present, she went to Bob Mackie’s studio and located the pattern of this piece,” Novak instructed the identical outlet.

Carpenter wasn’t alone in VIP classic. Halsey confirmed her animal magnetism on the VMAs carpet in a purple Versace costume beforehand worn by mannequin/actress Elizabeth Hurley in October 1996.

“This costume was actually a miracle to seek out,” the singer mentioned through the pre-show. “This costume was designed by Gianni Versace for Elizabeth Hurley in 1996, and it hasn’t been worn since. So from 1996 to me proper now, and I’m simply residing it up. I’m loving it.”

Is it secure to deliver up Blake Vigorous? In August, earlier than issues went sideways with the It Ends With Us press tour, the movie’s star wore a Versace robe that Britney Spears had worn to the label’s runway present in 2002. The shimmery one-shoulder costume was lined in butterflies and sequin pink, blue, yellow and purple flowers.

In response to TMZ, the costume wasn’t on mortgage for the evening. Vigorous really bought it from Tab Classic for a bit over $10,000. On social media, Vigorous expressed appreciation for Spears’s leisure contributions, calling her “the last word queen who made us all need to sparkle and write and share our tales.”

Gorgeous once more in the identical costume is kind of fashionable for the time being. At this yr’s Academy Awards, Sydney Sweeney channeled one other film siren, sporting the identical costume that Angelina Jolie had worn to the identical awards present in 2004. The archival Marc Bouwer robe was additionally an homage to Marilyn Monroe (from The Seven 12 months Itch).

The Anybody However You actress wrote on Instagram that “it was an honor to put on a bit of historical past.” She later instructed E! Information, “It is actually cool to have the ability to put on such iconic, stunning classic items, and Angelina is a mode icon.”

We’ve been seeing these homages fairly a bit over the previous few years, maybe most famously when Kim Kardashian wore Marilyn Monroe’s costume — worn to sing “Completely satisfied Birthday” to then-President John F. Kennedy in 1962 — to the 2022 Met Gala.

Whereas the costume was allegedly “completely altered” — with the material showing to be torn in locations and crystal sequins lacking — it gave Kardashian the Marilyn second she craved … even when she solely wore the costume for 4 minutes, turning into a reproduction as soon as she managed to stand up the steps. (She additionally misplaced 16 kilos in three weeks, in case you keep in mind.)

Ripley’s Imagine It or Not! paid a staggering $4.8 million for Monroe’s costume, making it among the many most costly clothes ever. The truth TV star, who has insisted she didn’t harm the robe, mentioned, “I perceive how a lot this costume means to American historical past.” (Ripley’s additionally denied it was harmed.)

The identical yr, singer Kelsea Ballerini arrived on the Academy of Nation Music Honors within the famed white, sequin turtleneck robe that Shania Twain had worn to the 1999 Grammy Awards. Ballerini — who was loaned the costume from the Grammy Museum — wore it as a tribute to Twain, who was being honored on the present.

Twain cherished the callback, saying on the time, “I’m so blown away. She seems gorgeous. She seems like an absolute angel. It’s totally flattering to see her within the costume, and that she even wished to put on it. I mentioned, ‘I hope it isn’t too dusty after being within the [museum].'”

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