The Biggest Celeb Fashion Flops At The 2026 VMAs

There's no reason to be blue now that they've rolled out the blue carpet for the 2026 MTV VMAs! Every fall, the Video Music Awards is the perfect way to celebrate the best music of the year. Next year, though, they may be better off moving the show to another time. From the look of this year's blue carpet, music's biggest stars were apparently already getting in the Halloween spirit, a little over a month ahead of time. It seems that the attendees were sporting costumes, rather than serving looks. 

Things got undeniably spooky at the VMAs this year — with witch-y vibes, a seemingly Grim Reaper-inspired look, lots of dark eye makeup, and some outfits that were so bad, they sent a shiver down our spine. Perhaps this bodes well for next month; our favorite stars might be primed to blow the worst-dressed celebrity looks of Halloween 2025 out of the water. As for the VMAs, though? Let's just say the music was better than the fashion.

If Bebe Rexha was faced with the "Who are you wearing?" question on the blue carpet, we could totally see her saying, "My local Spirit Halloween!" With a sheer bodice, short black skirt with a train, and thigh-high lace-up boots, this 'fit was both a little spooky and lingerie-inspired, as so many Halloween costumes seem to be. Yet, this look wasn't right for an awards show. We wouldn't be surprised if Rexha regretted wearing it by the end of the night. Can you imagine being exhausted after a long event and having to get those boots off? Neither can we.

Sombr certainly didn't play it safe with his ensemble at the VMAs. With low-rise leather pants, a black-and-white striped fur coat, loads of jewelry, and a very clear and equally strange message on his belt, this outfit was nothing if not loud. Interestingly, though, it felt trite — sort of like a kid's idea of what a rockstar might wear. Furthermore, this black and white fur coat had undeniable skunk vibes. We're just hoping his cologne didn't.

For Olandria Carthen's sake, hopefully there's a zipper hidden somewhere on this lace-up dress. Otherwise, she had to tie quite a few laces before heading to this year's VMAs. While the concept of so many laces is interesting, in this case, it was too busy. Furthermore, the dress seemed to be made of leather and had a brown and red color palette, which felt like an odd mix and didn't let Carthen's beauty shine the way other fabrics or color schemes always do.

This is the first time we've felt worried about seeing Adam Lambert appear in our nightmares. Lambert is, of course, unrecognizable from his "American Idol" days, but did he have to go so far with his look that he resembled the Grim Reaper? The black cloak, the dark eye makeup, the scrawled font of the "Adam" headpiece — it was all a little on the spooky side. It's clear he set out to make a statement, and he definitely achieved that goal. But, maybe next time, he could come up with something less ghoulish.

Lisa Rinna's hair transformation over the years has been quite a sight to see, but this may be one of the worst ways she's styled her locks. The messy blond pixie cut wasn't working, but it's not nearly as bad as Rinna's white gown. It seems that this dress, especially the plaster-like bodice, was meant to look like a sculpture, but the asymmetry and the silhouette looked unkempt. Paired with that hair and dark eye makeup, it looked even messier.

There are some Troye Sivan looks that have stood above the rest. Well ... this wasn't one of them. To be fair, we can say many things about Sivan's VMAs look, but we'd never call it boring! The top and bottom thirds of his outfit was a very fancy suit, and the middle third featured a bit of showgirl vibes popping out, thanks to large white feathers and draping black fabric across his waistline. While we can get behind that idea, the execution was distracting and out-there — especially for an awards show that tends to be more casual, like the VMAs. 

They say "beauty is pain," but wearing barbed wire is taking things a bit too far. While Rei Ami's all-black, barely-there two-piece set surely wasn't actually made of barbed wire, it wasn't a good look either way. This outfit was basically a bra and underwear with black, plastic-y-looking confetti hanging all over it. Sheer skirts can be totally trendy, but this time around, the styling felt unfocused and distracting. Ami got totally lost in her look, rather than standing out.

Whatever character Bella Kay was playing on the VMAs blue carpet should totally be cast as Helena Bonham Carter in a movie. The print on the bodice, the layers of lace, the turquoise jewelry, the choker necklace, the boots with messy laces: it was hard to know where to look on this outfit. The idea behind this gothic-inspired dress was interesting, but it was too visually busy and simply distracted from Kay.

At first glance, Kel Mitchell was simply sporting a yellow three-piece suit with oversized orange aviator sunglasses. It's hard to imagine that most onlookers were big fans of this over-the-top pastel fashion statement. Upon further inspection, though, this suit got even worse. Mitchell was wearing both a tie and a pin with the Pluto TV logo. Clearly Mitchell chose to dedicate his VMAs outfit to advertising his favorite streaming service; this just didn't make for a great style moment.