VMAs 2026 best dressed! Taylor Swift dazzles in shimmering gown as she leads the red carpet fashion parade alongside leggy Paris Hilton and scantily clad JoJo

Music’s biggest stars took over the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles on Sunday night for the 2026 MTV Video Music Awards (VMAs).

The VMAs red carpet is legendary for its daring fashion, and this year was no exception, with A-listers like Taylor Swift, Paris Hilton and JoJo stepping out in head-turning ensembles. 

Swift, 36, commanded the red carpet in a figure-hugging Tamara Ralph Couture ensemble as she arrived at the event without her NFL star husband Travis Kelce, 36, who had a Chiefs game against the Dolphins in Miami earlier in the day.

Her glamorous look boasted a halter neck black top with a showstopping sheer back, seamlessly paired with a sparkly silver skirt. 

On top of sweeping nine nominations, Swift is set to collect the inaugural Artist Director Honors during the ceremony. 

Her appearance follows Friday’s release of The Life of a Showgirl: The Encore, the deluxe edition of her 12th studio album. 

Hilton, 45, shimmered in a silver mini dress as she posed alongside sister Nicky Hilton, 42. 

JoJo, 35, kicked off the red carpet in a very revealing look, showing off her toned midriff in a tiny bra top and a sweeping long skirt. She accessorized the daring outfit with chunky silver jewelry and styled her long locks into soft waves. 

Meanwhile, Beyonce’s protégée Chloe Bailey, 28, had all eyes on her in a bedazzled silver gown.

Oscar nominee Teyana Taylor, 35, looked nothing short of sensational in a sultry, plunging black lace gown by Zuhair Murad Couture. 

Elsewhere on the red carpet Normani sent temperatures soaring in a jaw-dropping dark metallic gown complete with an intricate floral embellishment.

Charli XCX showed off her impressive abs in a tiny black top and matching long skirt. 

Other early red carpet arrivals included model Haley Kalil, who was a vision in a shimmering silver Marc Bouwer gown that highlighted her toned arms.

British singer-songwriter Raye 28, sparkled in a plunging Georges Hobeika Couture gown. 

Bebe Rexha stepped out in a daring black lace mini dress and lace up high heel boots. 

Love Island USA beauty Olandria had all eyes on her in a lace-up brown leather gown. 

Baby Spice Emma Bunton, 50, wore a sleek black dress by Annie’s Ibiza, boosting her frame with towering heels. 

Dracula: A Love Tale star Zoe Bleu Arquette was joined by Swedish rapper partner Yung Lean. 

Model Madisin Rian brought a serious dose of high fashion to the event in a dramatic cow-print ensemble complete with a matching wide-brim hat. 

Keltie Knight rocked a cheetah print mini dress with over-the-knee studded boots. 

Reality TV star Chanel West Coast paired a cheetah lace dress with a cowboy hat. 

Rock royalty Dave Grohl, Krist Novoselic and Pat Smear of Nirvana reunited on the red carpet. Grohl’s wife Jordyn Blum made a rare appearance at the event. The couple’s marriage was rocked after he confirmed he had fathered a baby with another woman in September 2024. 

Meanwhile, Alyssa Smith opted for a pop of color in a bright green gown and matching heels. 

Off Campus star Ella Bright brought gothic glamour to the red carpet, oozing siren energy in a sultry black corset dress. 

Juliet Schroder showed off her legs in a silver mini dress while Eva Gutowski stunned in a gothic corset ensemble.

Inasmuch as Beyonce has no nominations this year, Swift will become the sole reigning record-holder. 

The MTV VMA Artist Director Honors celebrates a sustained and influential body of work from artists who have pushed creative boundaries and developed a clear directorial voice.

Swift has utilized music videos as an extension of her songwriting as she has directed the visuals for her tracks:  The Fate of Ophelia, Opalite, The Man, cardigan, willow, All Too Well: The Short Film, Anti-Hero, Bejeweled, Fortnight (feat. Post Malone), I Can See You (Taylor’s Version) (From The Vault), Karma (feat. Ice Spice) and Lavender Haze.

No doubt diehard Swifties will be watching the event with plenty of scrutiny as she released deluxe album The Life of a Showgirl: The Encore along with new single Patient Zero on Friday.

Meanwhile, nominees were unveiled last month and it was Madonna who emerged as the artist with the most nods.

Madonna, 68, is in competition for a staggering 11 prizes, narrowly beating out Swift, who has nods in nine categories.

They will be vying against each other for the evening’s top honor, video of the year, with Swift up for The Fate of Ophelia and Madonna for Confessions II (The Film).

Rounding out the category are the music videos for Hate That I Made You Love Me by Ariana Grande, Tears by Sabrina Carpenter, I Just Might by Bruno Mars and Storm by GENER8ION (starring Yung Lean).

Madonna famously performed at the first-ever VMAs in 1984, bursting from a gigantic wedding cake while dressed in a bridal gown for a rendition of Like a Virgin.

She has emerged as a reliable engine of memorable moments at the extravaganza, where she ignited a fan frenzy in 2003 by kissing Britney Spears on the lips.

Over the course of her more than four-decade career, Madonna has earned a total of 19 VMAs, meaning that in order to equal Swift and Beyonce’s current record she will have to triumph in every category in which she is nominated this year.

Confessions II (The Film) is in the running to win best direction, best cinematography, best visual effects, best editing, best choreography, best art direction and dance video of the year.

Trailing Madonna and Swift, Grande and Carpenter are tied for third place with seven nominations apiece, while Mars, PinkPantheress and Zara Larsson each have five.

The artist of the year category is a face-off between Madonna, Swift, Grande, Carpenter, Mars and country music heartthrob Morgan Wallen.

Madonna and Carpenter have landed a joint song of the year nomination for their duo Bring Your Love, the lead single of the former’s new album Confessions II.

Their rivals are Ella Langley for Choosin’ Texas, BTS for Swim, Raye for Where Is My Husband, Olivia Dean for Man I Need and HUNTR/X for their Oscar-winning number Golden from the streaming sensation KPop Demon Hunters. 

Madonna’s Confessions II (The Film) is up for dance video of the year, against such competition as  Aperture by Harry Styles, Runway by Lady Gaga and Doechii and New Religion by Bebe Rexha and Faithless.

The other nominees in that category are Dance… by Slayyyter, Stateside by PinkPantheress and Zara Larsson and Nobody’s Girl by Tate McRae.

Madonna and Carpenter could also win best collaboration, for which they would have to beat out Clipse, Kendrick Lamar, Pusha T and Malice for Chains & Whips as well as Shakira and Burna Boy for Dai Dai.

Also in that category are Teyana Taylor and Lucky Daye’s Hard Part, PinkPantheress and Zara Larsson’s Stateside and French Montana and Max B’s Ever Since U Left Me.

Best pop video has emerged as a contest between Hate That I Made You Love Me, The Fate of Ophelia and Nobody’s Girl, as well as Dream by the Blackpink breakout Lisa, SS26 by Charli XCX, Drop Dead by Olivia Rodrigo and House Tour by Carpenter.

Madonna’s VMAs coup comes after she earned a burst of critical acclaim and fan adoration for her latest album Confessions II, which was released July 3 and serves as a sequel to her 2005 smash hit Confessions on a Dance Floor.

During the promotions for Confessions II, Madonna went viral for describing John F Kennedy Jr as one of the best lovers she ever had. 

Madonna was asked to reveal her ‘best f***,’ and after insisting she would ‘only name dead people,’ whispered: ‘John Kennedy Jr.’

The Queen of Pop indulged in a dalliance with ‘America’s Prince’ in the 1980s, to the purported dismay of his mother Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis.

Madonna paid her compliments to JFK Jr’s bedroom skills while appearing in a video for the gay hookup app Grindr, with which she had launched a Pride month partnership as an advertisement for Confessions II.

Meanwhile, the fever-pitch publicity around Swift reached a zenith this summer with her Madison Square Garden wedding to NFL star Travis Kelce on July 3.