It’s up to the VMAs 2025 red carpet to get us excited about pop culture again after the excess of Brat Summer in 2024. By contrast, summer 2025 was more muted, without a defining song or trend to get behind save for butter yellow and Labubus. But not to fear—The Life of a Showgirl is nigh.

At last year’s event, Sabrina Carpenter’s Short n Sweet era was all about pin-up Old Hollywood, we still thought Taylor Swift was teasing Reputation, while Chappell Roan was going goth glam and Katy Perry hadn’t even been to space. (Here’s our full coverage of last year’s carpet.)

This year, things are a little different. For one, Sabrina is now in her “man’s best friend” era, and Gaga is returning to the red carpet—and the stage—while Swift is skipping the show entirely. Producer Benny Blanco and Selena Gomez are nominated for best collaboration, though considering their wedding is allegedly coming up sometime this month, we wouldn’t be surprised if they skipped the whole shebang too. As for the stars that are expected at the 2025 VMAs? That would include nominees Tate McRae, The Weeknd, Gracie Abrams, Lady Gaga, Lorde, Ed Sheeran, Doechii, Billie Eilish, and Kendrick Lamar, all of whom stand to win Moon Men.

Here are all the major looks from the VMAs 2025 red carpet on Saturday, September 7, from New York’s UBS Arena.