The Best Red-Carpet Looks At The 2026 VMAs

The music industry has its annual tentpole events that bring out everyone from the upstarts to certified legends. The early spring always means the Grammys, and the start of fall always means the MTV Video Music Awards. This year, the VMAs are returning to Los Angeles for the first time since 2017, making it a shorter commute for nominees like Ariana Grande and Sabrina Carpenter, and bringing East Coast talent like nominees Geese across the country for what will hopefully be more unadulterated fun. Fun is the name of the name inside the ceremony and on the red carpet before the stars even step foot inside. So who can we expect to see?

Grande is nominated eight times over, while Carpenter has nine; Madonna, with her unexpectedly major Confessions II album, has a career-high 13 noms. Elsewhere, friends of NYLON like Charli xcx, Sienna Spiro, Sombr, PinkPantheress, and Olivia Dean have earned nods, and performances are coming from most of the nominees I just named, plus a Dolly Parton tribute from Kacey Musgraves (excellent job, showrunners). As far as the red carpet goes, the VMAs are the place to experiment, pull a gag with a never-before-seen archival look, or wear as little as possible in the name of musical excellence. Keep scrolling to see what nominees and performers pull from their ever-rotating closets.