The Most Iconic Red Carpet Looks Of The 1980s

If acid washed jeans, shoulder pads, and anything neon makes you want to blast Duran Duran music and dance, you are probably an '80s baby. Remembered by many as one of the most fun decades for fashion, the trends ranged from playful to power player and preppy to punk. Inspiration could always be found in magazines, movies, and MTV, but some of the most iconic fashion moments of the '80s appeared on the red carpet. This was where the stars pulled out all the stops with looks so unforgettable that we still talk about them today. 

Big, bold, and in your face, the '80s vibe was the antithesis of today's quiet luxury trends. The over-the-top fashions were a reflection of the "more is more" decade, and we couldn't get enough. "The 1980s were about extravagance, excess, and expression," revered fashion journalist, the late André Leon Talley said (via Hello!). "People wanted to be seen." That included celebrities who turned the red carpets into catwalks. Many served as muses for the designers of the decade, catapulting them from obscurity into household names. Madonna helped bring Jean Paul Gaultier to the forefront of '80s fashion when he designed her thrift store style in the hit film "Desperately Seeking Susan," while Bob Mackie was the man behind Cher's most eye-popping '80s outfits. By now we know that everything is cyclical, and elements of the '80s have made encore performances over the years, but these '80s celebrity red carpet moments are still one of a kind.

If she could turn back time, we wonder if Cher would make some different fashion choices. The '80s found the singer baring it all, and while they may not seem so scandalous by today's standards, some of Cher's outfits hit all the wrong notes with the public. Cher pushed envelopes with her red carpet choices, including the time she nabbed her first Oscar for her role in "Moonstruck" in 1988. The actor accepted the honor in a Bob Mackie creation that left nothing to the imagination. "It's all see-through and black, and what you'd expect of Cher," the designer told Vanity Fair, and later added that it was, "like a beautiful period dress — except there was no underwear."  

The gown quickly became known as Cher's "Oscar Revenge Dress." Why? Because just two years earlier the star was passed over for an Oscar nomination for her role in "Mask," a slight that led to one of Cher's most controversial outfits of all times: the Bob Mackie belly-baring black gown and enormous feather headdress she wore as a presenter at the event. ”I wasn't going to go at all,” she told The New York Times. ”And then they asked me to present, these people who had just said, 'No, you can't be one of us.' I thought, 'Okay, you can go in a simple black dress and be just like everyone else.' But then I decided, 'I'm going to remind them of what they don't like about me.” Spoken like a true icon.

When Madonna burst onto the scene in the early '80s, she became an instant trendsetter. A little edgy, a little punk, a little thrift shop, and a lot of attitude defined the material girl's '80s style, and it quickly spilled over everywhere from the halls of high schools to the hippest dance clubs. The fashion trends popularized by Madonna seemed harmless enough: stacks of bracelets, layers of crucifixes, and rags holding her wild curls back from her face. But then she showed up at the 1984 MTV Music Awards looking like a not-so-virginal bride, with a "Boy Toy" belt slung around her waist, and everything changed. "I hand-sewed that wedding gown, dressed her with all those f***ing crosses," French designer Maripol told the New York Post. "The Catholic church, the music industry, puritanical America — everyone was calling it obscene," she continued. "But all the young girls loved it."

When it was time for her to perform her new hit, "Like A Virgin," the singer rolled, writhed, and crawled across the stage, and went from club kid to video vixen overnight. Madonna's manager told her that the sexually charged performance would cost the singer her career, but he couldn't have been more wrong. "Like a Virgin" became Madonna's first No. 1 hit, and the performance went down in music history, with MTV calling it, "One of the most important and most unforgettable VMA performances ever, if not one of the most iconic pop performances of all time," per People. 

Before her headline-making wardrobe malfunction, Janet Jackson was just a 16-year-old girl in a strapless taffeta gown attending the 1983 American Music Awards. The look was pure teen prom queen, and was light years away from the more provocative choices that would define her later career. "I also wore this dress to my graduation," the "If" singer told Vogue. Janet revealed that she wasn't a fan of dresses, but her mother liked for her to wear them. "I'd rather be in pants," she said, but that didn't stop her from being upset when her sister La Toya Jackson took the red dress for herself. "I couldn't believe she had the audacity to walk in my closet and take my dress," she said. "I was so mad," she added. "I haven't seen it since. Sisters!" 

Jackson may be the youngest member of the famous Jackson family, but she is one of the most successful. With the release of her '80s album "Control" that spawned hits like "Nasty," the talented performer quickly established herself as a pop star independent of her famous siblings. The stunning transformation of Janet Jackson from Michael Jackson's adorable little sister, to teen actor, to pop mega-star has been nothing short of spectacular. But despite her rise to the top, the multi-award winning artist doesn't measure success in accolades. As she told Essence in an interview, "How far I've come from that child there to the woman that I am today. That's success." 

The late Princess Diana was the very epitome of '80s style, always embracing the trends of the decade in ways that were royally fabulous. For the London premiere of "The Living Daylights" in 1987, the people's princess sparkled in a gold and white gown that shimmered with sequins, rhinestones, crystals, and pearl beads. "It's a fantasia," Kerry Taylor, a specialist fashion auctioneer who orchestrated the "Passion for Fashion" auction where the gown sold for approximately $140,000, told ABC News. "It sparkles, it glows, it's every little girls' dream of what a princess should wear." 

The gown was designed by David and Elizabeth Emanuel, and selected by Diana herself at a fashion show benefitting the Red Cross. The princess was a long-time fan of the designers, who also created the black gown she wore at her first formal engagement with her fiancé, Prince Charles, as well as the blouse she wore in her official engagement portrait. They also designed her confection of a bridal gown. Years later, however, Princess Diana's wedding dress sparked a contentious battle between the now-ex-husband-and-wife design team, when David sued Elizabeth over alleged copyright infringement. The couple settled the dispute in mediation and Elizabeth now owns the intellectual property rights of their former partnership. "I am just so happy that it has finally all been settled," Elizabeth told People in an exclusive interview. "This means I can move forward with my life."

Drew Barrymore captured the hearts of audiences all over the world when she played the adorable "Gertie" in the hit film "E.T."  Her combination of sass and sweetness was endearing, and although she didn't earn an Oscar nod for the role, the 7-year-old stole the show on the red carpet at the 1983 Academy Awards in a dress that was a far cry from couture. "My mom, you know, she was a single working mom," Barrymore explained, per People. "We didn't make a ton of money off 'E.T.,' barely any, it was 1982, and I was, you know, a kid," she added. "We bought it off the rack, and that was the look." To the pretty pink gown, Barrymore added a faux fur stole and a strand of pearls — and a star was born. 

Barrymore comes from a long line of Hollywood royalty, and her own illustrious career began when she was just 11 months old. Achieving success at such a young age meant plenty of temptations, and there have been some really tragic details about Drew Barrymore's life. By the age of 12, she was partying like someone twice her age, hanging at Studio 54, and using cocaine, alcohol, and marijuana. But unlike some Hollywood child actors who never came back from the edge, Barrymore's story is one of success. She has learned from her experiences and emerged as a strong businessperson, celebrated actor, and loving mother of two beautiful daughters that she shares with ex-husband Will Kopelman. 

Taylor Swift may have had her "Lavender Haze," but no one did purple quite like Prince when he nabbed the Oscar for best original score for his hit movie "Purple Rain" in 1985. The diminutive superstar was larger than life as he strolled the red carpet in high heeled boots, waving to the crowds with his lace-gloved hand, a gold hoop earring peeking out from beneath the hood of his sequined purple cape. Like the late singer himself, the look became so iconic that decades later, singer H.E.R. paid tribute to it by showing up to the 2021 Oscars in a beaded purple jumpsuit that looked like something straight out of Paisley Park. "We were inspired by Prince's first trip to the Oscars where he won best song for 'Purple Rain,'" Peter Dundas, the designer of H.E.R.'s show stopping outfit, told InStyle, per Grazia. "With him being one of her favorite artists, we decided to channel that winning energy." 

Prince was known for his flashy, often flamboyant style that pushed the envelope in terms of gender bending. High heels, eyeliner, ruffles, and lace were staples of his androgynous look. "He made me feel comfortable with how I identify sexually simply by his display of freedom from and irreverence for the archaic idea of gender conformity," singer Frank Ocean once said in a tribute, per The Guardian. Despite his influence, Prince claimed to have no passion for fashion, and told one interviewer (per The Guardian), "I wear what I want because I don't really like clothes."

If there was a face of the '80s movie scene, it would've been Molly Ringwald. With her flaming red hair and pouty lips, she was in a string of movies that defined a generation. From "Pretty in Pink" to "The Breakfast Club" and "Sixteen Candles," Ringwald's brand of cool, unconventional beauty inspired teenagers everywhere. If you need further proof, the lipstick Molly Ringwald wore in "The Breakfast Club" went viral on TikTok nearly three decades later. But it wasn't her lipstick that people were talking about when Ringwald showed up at the 1987 Oscars wearing a simple, black midi Chanel dress that the star loved so much, she told Harper's Bazaar, "I still have it." 

Ringwald's career may be synonymous with the '80s, but her career has spanned decades and stood the test of time. So has her impeccable style, which she once defined in a WWD interview as "very individual." "You can't just look in a magazine and say, 'Oh, wow, that looks great on that person, therefore it will look great on me,'" she said. Interestingly, Ringwald didn't keep many of those recognizable movie outfits from the '80s, a choice she has regretted, according to her daughter Mathilda, who didn't appreciate her mom's taste until later in life. "I hated all of my mum's clothes in both real life and the movies until two years ago," Mathilda told The Times. "All of a sudden it switched and now I consider her closet my closet too."

The song "Girls Just Wanna' Have Fun" became an '80s mantra, and it's endearing singer led the chant. Cyndi Lauper, with her bright, bold hair and colorful way of dressing was the epitome of an '80s girl having fun, and nowhere was that more obvious than the 1985 American Music Awards. Lauper showed up with her true colors shining, from her red and yellow hair to her print dress and enough beaded baubles to rival a Mardi Gras parade. "The '80s was a really creative and brave period," Lauper once told The New York Times. Outrageous outfits aside, Lauper's hair was one of her favorite places to experiment with pushing boundaries. "The hair symbolized a counterculture and rebellion, and that was significantly important to me," she told ABC News. "If you're going to color your hair, you might as well ... color it a color."  

The untold truth of Cyndi Lauper is that underneath that bold, brash exterior is a woman who has had to privately battle psoriasis, an autoimmune disease that, as she once told KTLA, left her feeling "alone" and "unattractive." She has learned to manage her illness and is an advocate for those who also have to live with the disease which has, at times, covered large parts of her body, leaving her bedridden. Lauper said she manages her psoriasis with diet and exercise among other things, and has refused to let it stop her from having her fun.

Statuesque Grace Jones struck an imposing figure in the '80s with her often severe hair and makeup choices. A fearless trailblazer, the Jamaican model and singer dared to wear some of the boldest fashions of the decade, including a sculptural design from Issey Miyake that was the star of the 1983 Grammy Awards. The dress was black leather with wide shoulders and a slit that went down to her navel. A wide- brimmed hat and bright makeup accented her chiseled features (here's how to do your makeup like Grace Jones) for a result that was futuristic and edgy, just like the artist herself. 

Jones and the late Miyake worked together for decades, creating looks that could best be defined as performance art. The collaboration took flight when Miyake put Jones in "12 Black Women," his controversial touring show. "My first record, 'I Need A Man,' had just come out," Jones told Vogue, "and Issey said, 'I think you should sing [the song] in my wedding dress.' And that was the first show I did for Issey."  That was the beginning of a beautiful relationship that has lasted even though the designer is gone. "I wear his clothes every day to this day, and even those pieces I've worn for years still surprise me," Jones wrote in her autobiography, "I'll Never Write My Memoirs." "He once said that his clothes are unfinished, and how they get finished is by being worn for years." 

You can't talk '80s iconic red carpet looks without mentioning the King of Pop. Michael Jackson redefined '80s fashion when he moonwalked his way from a cute kid in the Jackson 5 to a full-fledged superstar with a look and style that was undeniably his own. At the 1984 Grammy Awards, Jackson dazzled in a sequin military jacket (complete with a sash) and his signature short pants. That was also the night he debuted what would become his signature white sequined glove. With so much sparkle, Jackson had no choice but to rise into the stratosphere of stardom. 

Jackson's clothing often had a purpose or reflected the singer's interests at the time. The short pants, for example, were intentionally designed to show off the singer's fancy footwork. And the military jackets? "He knew that they have a special effect on people from highly different cultures and also draw attention," Michael Bush, Jackson's personal stylist and exclusive designer, told The Spin Off. "After that he always searched for things which drew people's attention and then this needed to be implemented in the costume." That included his trademark white socks, which Bush said Jackson used as a way to stand out against the dark background of the stage. "The bigger the concert, the shorter the pants," he said. "It was about staging things, but also about drawing attention away from himself because he was a very shy person."