In 2024, two distinct red carpet trends—vintage dressing and theme dressing—began to merge. It was no longer enough to reference an on-screen character at a premiere; this year, many upped the ante and did so while pulling a super-rare look from a runway of yore. Other stars worked with designers on recreations of gowns that looked museum-worthy but wouldn’t crumble at the touch due to decades-long fabric decay. The result was a parade of red carpet ensembles that both referenced and celebrated a sense of nostalgia. Some even took it a step further and styled their entire ensemble around another celebrity. When Halloween came around, this practice exploded, and moved from the carpet to the photo studio, with numerous stars dressing as their just-as-famous idols for the holiday. So many celebrities showed love for those who came before them—and in the process, provided fashion-focused history lessons for those who tuned into premieres, award shows, and film festivals over the last 12 months. We don’t want to forget these moments with the end of 2024, so we’ve compiled the 20 best fashion homages of the year, from Zendaya’s Met Gala look to Beyoncé’s multiple Halloween costumes.
Zendaya in Maison Margiela
When Zendaya stepped out in her first of two looks at the Met, many could immediately tell they were looking at a John Galliano design. The lamé and organza, bias-cut dress directly referenced a similar look that Galliano created for the Christian Dior spring/summer 1999 collection, complete with the corseted bodice and grape-adorned shoulders.
Sabrina Carpenter in Bob Mackie
Sabrina Carpenter honored Madonna with her look at the VMAs this year, walking the event’s red carpet in a vintage Bob Mackie gown Madonna originally wore for a 1991 Vanity Fair cover shot by Steven Meisel, and to the Academy Awards that same year. Carpenter, who sourced the dress from Tab Vintage, leaned into the reference with some glamorous early ’90s Madge hair and makeup.
Beyoncé as Pamela Anderson
Beyoncé dressed as multiple celebrities this Halloween, including Pamela Anderson. The singer didn’t just show off one version of Anderson, though, but three. Beyoncé recreated the actress’ iconic, fur-topped hat ensemble from the 1999 VMAs, her Barb Wire poster, and her classic red swimsuit look from Baywatch.
Carey Mulligan in Schiaparelli Haute Couture
The gorgeous Schiaparelli haute couture gown Carey Mulligan wore to the Golden Globes was a recreation of a design by Elsa Schiaparelli herself for the brand’s fall 1949/1950 collection.
Lily Gladstone in Balenciaga
Lily Gladstone’s draped, marigold dress for the Kinds of Kindness premiere at the Cannes Film Festival was directly inspired by a Cristóbal Balenciaga design from 1959.
Nicole Kidman in Balenciaga
Zendaya wasn’t the only Met Gala attendee who showed up in a dress inspired by a vintage look. Nicole Kidman also attended the event in an archival recreation. Demna was inspired by a Cristóbal Balenciaga design from 1951 when creating the actress’ gown for the evening. The original dress, which similarly featured a black skirt of layered ruffles, was made famous by supermodel Dorian Leigh in a Harper’s Bazaar image by Richard Avedon. Demna’s version took 800 hours of hand embroidery and the application of 150 meters of silk organza to create. “The gown [bears] a natural, full-circle moment of time—it’s a celebration of Richard’s work that will live on, but also, an acknowledgment of Balenciaga’s artistic vision that continues to seamlessly blend the illusion of past, present, and future,” Kidman told Vogue.
Beyoncé as Prince and Vanity
Another of Beyoncé’s Halloween costumes featured not one, but two celebrities: Prince and Vanity, Prince’s former partner and lead singer of Vanity 6, the trio created by Prince in the ’80s.
Tyla in Roberto Cavalli
Tyla was the latest to wear the famed Roberto Cavalli zebra-print dress, which Aaliyah famously wore to the VMAs in 2000.
Isabelle Huppert in Balenciaga
Isabel Huppert’s dress at the Met Gala this year had quite a unique backstory. The French actress is the great-great-granddaughter of Marthe Bertrand, who founded the fashion house Callot Soeurs with her three sisters, Marie, Régina, and Joséphine in 1895. A Callot Soeurs wedding dress designed for socialite Natalie Potter in 1931 was featured in the Costume Institute’s “Sleeping Beauties” exhibition, so Huppert asked Demna to recreate it for her to wear on the red carpet.
“I think that, of all the participants, I’m probably the one with the most obvious and, above all, the most personal connection,” Huppert said, according to Vogue, “since I’ll be wearing a dress revisited by Demna, obviously for Balenciaga, but a dress that was created by my great-grandmothers.”
Halle Bailey as Halle Berry in Die Another Day
Many people honored Halle Berry this year for Halloween, including Halle Bailey, who dressed up as the actress in her role of Bond Girl Jinx in the 2002 film, Die Another Day.
Tate McCrae in Roberto Cavalli
Tate McRae’s homage to Britney Spears at the 2024 MTV Video Music Awards came about fairly spontaneously. The Canadian pop star picked out this sheer Cavalli piece just a day before flying out for the event in New York, and when she was looking up ideas on how to style it, she stumbled upon an image of Spears in a very similar ensemble at the 2001 VMAs. “I was like, ‘Oh, my God. Holy shit,’” she told W. “It literally looked identical to the Cavalli. That was so cool so I was like, ‘It would be really fun to pay homage to her at the VMAs,’ because she’s obviously the queen of the VMAs.”
Zendaya in Bob Mackie
When Zendaya was given the honor of introducing Cher for her induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, the Dune 2 star didn’t take the responsibility lightly. The actress attended the event in Cher cosplay, wearing a strappy, nude illusion dress from Mackie’s fall 2001 collection, complete with pin-straight, Cher hair. While Cher never wore this specific piece, it is very similar to another ab-baring Mackie the singer wore for a photo shoot in 1972.
Ariana Grande in Ralph Lauren
Of course, Ariana Grande referenced her Wicked character throughout the film’s press tour, but there was something about the yellow, draped silk Ralph Lauren dress she wore to the London premiere. The look, along with the round green glasses, directly referenced an ensemble Glinda wears when she accompanies Elphaba to the Emerald City to meet the Wizard during the stage performance of “One Short Day.” This slightly niche reference was an especially fun one for fans, and it was nice to break up all the pink for a moment.
Beyoncé as Betty Davis
Finally, Beyoncé dressed as Betty Davis—specifically recreating the cover art of Davis’ 2005 compilation album, This Is It—for Halloween as well. When Beyoncé posted the costume on Instagram she included the caption, “Betty Davis in my bones,” a reference to a lyric from her song, “Bodyguard.”
Sabrina Carpenter in Lillie Rubin
Carpenter appeared on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert in a look originally seen on the “Flashy Girl From Flushing.” The singer wore a vintage Lille Rubin set from the ’90s, made famous by Fran Drescher in the premiere episode of The Nanny.
Jenna Ortega in Thom Browne
While promoting Beetlejuice Beetlejuice earlier this year, Jenna Ortega engaged in a heavy dose of theme dressing, attending many of the film’s various events in spooky ensembles. One day, though, the actress stepped out in this custom Thom Browne look, which referenced Winona Ryder’s Lydia Deetz during the “Jump in the Line (Shake Señora)” scene in the original film. She even carried an Ozias bag, which looked like a copy of Handbook for the Recently Deceased, making for the perfectly placed detail.
Kylie Jenner as Barbarella
Per usual, Kylie Jenner shared an array of Halloween costumes this year, dressing up as some of the most famous characters from classic movies. For one of her looks, she embodied Barbarella from the 1968 Jane Fonda film, which featured costumes by Jacques Fonteray and Paco Rabanne.
Tyla as Halle Berry in The Flintstones
Tyla, meanwhile, joined the group of stars who dressed up as Berry, specifically in character as Sharon Stone from the 1994 live-action The Flintstones.
Katseye in Anna Sui
The global girl group rang in the holiday season with custom Anna Sui looks for their performance at Jingle Ball. The ensembles, created in collaboration with Anna Sui, directly referenced some of the designer’s creations from the ’90s, specifically the baby doll dresses worn by Linda Evangelista, Christy Turlington, and Naomi Campbell at the brand’s spring/summer 1994 show.
Elsa Hosk as Princess Diana
No, that’s not Princess Diana—it’s model Elsa Hosk dressed up as Princess Diana in the famous revenge dress, which Hosk wore for Halloween this year.