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The Best And Worst Red Carpet Looks From The VMAs 2016

The MTV VMAs: a bizarre but entertaining awards show from a channel that’s not so much about airing music videos anymore, so much as reality TV shows centring on drunk Geordies and hormonal teenage mothers. Still, even more eyebrow-raising than the inevitable celebrity feuds and Drake trying to neck Rihanna on stage were the outfits. The good, the bad, and the downright batshit. The awards go to…

The Best

Nick Jonas

Intent on distancing himself from his Disney past, the youngest Jonas brother takes every red carpet appearance as an opportunity to show that a) his balls have dropped, and b) his style game is strong. Here, the beaded bomber makes his look memorable but stops short of ‘too much’, while the neutral kicks, tee and trousers provide the perfect anchor. Looks like the Camp Rock days are long gone.

Desiigner

Real rappers wear pink. Or blush at the very least. As Desiigner proves, the colour wheel’s rosier tones aren’t the sole preserve of Peppa Pig birthday cakes – wear pink with enough confidence and the flashbulbs will feel the pull. Shame he left his shirt in the dressing room though.

Jidenna

Red carpet style needn’t be all suited and booted. More Senegal than Savile Row, Jidenna opts for a West African-influenced printed tunic with classic black trousers and tasselled loafers. Proof it’s worth looking beyond Mayfair members’ clubs for style cues.

Jake Miller

On a red carpet that once played host to Riff Raff’s Canadian tuxedo and Lady Gaga’s flank steak frock, Jake Miller wisely steers toward subtlety. Which in this case takes the form of a rock-meets-refined combination of a white tee layered underneath a textured grey blazer, moto jeans and suede Chelsea boots. Granted, the look isn’t groundbreaking, but it will age far better than sequinned jackets and multi-coloured fauxhawks (more on that later).

Kanye West

Kanye’s look may have been overshadowed by the premiere of the Flashdance-meets-feline video for ‘Fade’, but his signature style nous is still there. All-white can be a tricky look to pull off outside Puff Daddy’s infamous annual party, but ‘Ye makes it work with a boxy fit t-shirt and straight leg jeans that neither strangle or swamp his frame. No wonder he’s smiling (for once).

Michael Phelps

Now he’s done becoming the most decorated Olympian in history, former competitive swimmer Phelps is setting his sights on winning gold in the menswear stakes. Here, his white shirt dilutes a navy tonal look that sits comfortably between smart and casual, while the black leather sneakers prove Phelps knows which style rules are worth breaking. (The fitness model 6-foot-plus frame doesn’t hurt either.)

The Worst

Jaden Smith

Why Louis Vuitton knocked on Jaden’s door for the Series 4 campaign we’ll never know. But, if style means wearing a knee-length mash-up of a blazer and your childhood blankie, we must be losing touch.

Frankie Grande

Has Frankie Grande no shame? If he’s not starring in the car crash that is Celebrity Big Brother, he’s pairing bird print jeans with a sequined blazer, dog tags from 2002 and bejewelled Nike trainers swiped straight from a Russian oligarch’s teenage daughter. Go home Frankie, you’re drunk.

Fat Joe

Now, with a name like Fat Joe, you might wager that the man in question would be au fait with dressing for his build. But you’d be wrong. The Terror Squad rapper apparently purchased his rip-off Versace bomber at the local market and then missed the tonal memo entirely with a mismatched trouser. If it wasn’t for the sunglasses, you’d see tears in his eyes.

Lance Bass

The N*Sync alumnus couldn’t be more out-of-sync with this mangled look. His bomber’s ‘Love Trumps Hate’ message might be commendable (and necessary in an age of toupee-wearing hatemongers), but the addition of a bizarre S&M prop instead of a tie is the wall to making this look great (again).

G-Eazy

G-Eazy – fledgling rapper of questionable skill or questionable porn casting director? Answers on a postcard, please.

DJ Cassidy

Remember when Adidas did that sick collab with the Oxbridge Boat Race? No, us neither.

Murray Clark