Sabrina Carpenter Pays Fashionable Homage to Cher, Britney Spears, Madonna, and Marilyn—In One Night

Sabrina Carpenter is the undisputed queen of vintage. Her musical epic, punctuated by her global hit “Espresso,” never ceases to embrace the codes of yesteryear, as in the case of her latest single, “Tears,” with its ’80s disco pop sounds, which she performed on stage at the VMAs 2025 last Sunday. For her performance, Carpenter first appeared on stage wearing a fringed top adorned with rhinestones and a matching miniskirt. But halfway through, the singer changed up her look. The new outfit? A diamond-spangled halter bra and black sequined mini-shorts. It was a more daring and sexy ensemble, not to mention a nod to a pop star from the 2000s: Britney Spears.

In 2001, Spears wore a similar bra designed by Bob Mackie for a performance of “Baby One More Time” featured in an HBO documentary about her Dream Within a Dream Tour. Originally, the lingerie piece was designed for the Las Vegas revue Jubilee! in 1981. However, the bra sold at auction this year for $78,000 (over 66,200 euros); Sabrina Carpenter’s version being a replica, not the original.

Carpenter’s vintage fashion marathon and tribute—not only to Mackie but another foundational pop diva—continued outside the musical ceremony. And yes, you’d have thought that after winning three awards, including Album of the Year for Short n’ Sweet, the singer would be tuckered out, but no, far from it. Carpenter celebrated her victory at her own “Sabrina54” afterparty, and donned another look straight from Cher‘s archives for the occasion.