Fashion, in its finest form, is like sculpture—look no further than Sabrina Carpenter’s latest turn on the red carpet for proof. The singer turned up to the Time100 Next Gala last night in a chainmail dress that looked like it could have been sculpted out of a disco ball.
Carpenter arrived a custom outfit from Versace. The singer’s strapless dress was marked by the Italian brand’s signature, skin-tight corsetry, something that was only taken up several notches with a daring leg slit that extended to her hip on one side. Her dress’s use of metal mesh was a glamorized, va-va-voom twist on the recent medieval red carpet trend—though, with the towering heels Carpenter was wearing during the evening, she likely spent her night on the dance floor than in some metaphorical fashion battle.
It’s been a whirlwind year for Carpenter, but it’s evident that she’s hit her stride on the red carpet. With her bottle blonde hair and classic red or nude lipstick, her step and repeat appearances are reminiscent of Hollywood icons of yesteryear, but done so in a way that still feels current.
For the MTV Video Music Awards last month, Carpenter tapped into the celebrity vintage craze with a Bob Mackie show-stopper that was previously worn by Madonna in the ’90s. A few weeks before that, Carpenter co-signed the butter yellow trend at a Variety event in Los Angeles. She wore a fully bedazzled Miu Miu gown that was blinged-out with crystals and silver baubles.
Carpenter has boiled down her red carpet style to a fairly simple silhouette: there’s a towering platform shoe to add a few inches to her petite frame, some sort of cinched or corseted silhouette, and plenty of sequin detailing to satisfy the disco crowd. Simply put: Carpenter knows what makes a quality party look.