Taylor Swift might have stuck to her hair signature at last night's MTV VMAs, but it was an entirely different story from the fringe down. Arriving on the step and repeat, Swift positively smouldered in a strategically ruched and slashed gown from Versace. The Italian label has a storied history of creating sexy dresses. So much so that eagle-eyed fans might have noticed that the singer was almost certainly staging a throwback to one of the most sizzling fashion moments of the Nineties.
The gold embellishments? The thigh-high split? Both are vital stats of the brand's infamous safety pin dress worn by Liz Hurley. The actor was attending the premiere of Four Weddings and a Funeral, accompanying its star (and her then-boyfriend) Hugh Grant. Plunging at the front, slashed at the side and fastened with giant gold pins that have since become a house signature, it was a decade-defining look that became an instant classic.
Taylor's choice represents something of a curveball for the singer, whose red carpet comfort zone tends to be fairytale gowns with sequinned puffball skirts or diaphanous sleeves (she's performed in both on her recent Eras Tour). She has, however, also been repeat-wearing Versace, packing a custom-made sequinned bodysuit for Las Vegas. Is this the start of her vamp era? Very possibly.