Look of the Week: Rebecca Black dresses for a shotgun wedding at the AMAs in Vegas
By Jacqui Palumbo, CNN
(CNN) — The American Music Awards returned after a two-year hiatus to a new location in Las Vegas, and while several celebrities seemed to take style inspiration from Sin City, none took the brief more seriously (or unseriously) than Rebecca Black, who stepped onto the red carpet dressed for a shotgun wedding.
Black’s ivory silk taffeta dress was flouncy and corseted, and she paired it with a bridal veil and monogrammed sailor hat — the latter accessory a signature of the LA designer Erik Charlotte’s maritime-influenced fall 2024 capsule collection.
When asked by Variety if she said she wanted a wedding gown, Black joked: “I did not, but then we ended up here, and I said of course I’m getting married.” At another point, she told Billboard she wanted to look like “an angel,” adding, “I wanted to float down the carpet.”
Black, who rose to fame in 2011 as a teen for her viral pop song “Friday,” has pivoted in adulthood to hyperpop and Boiler Room-approved DJ sets, opening for Katy Perry and striking out on her own tours, too. She’s been candid about how her early fame negatively impacted her mental health, telling Good Morning America in 2020 she became “unbelievably depressed” due to online bullying over her song.
Over the past few years, as she’s embraced an openly queer identity, her return to music has been more tongue-in-cheek with campy, party-girl aesthetics that have gained her a new cult following. At the AMAs, she told Billboard she’s “taking it one day at a time. I have a lot of fun with what I do obviously,” she added, gesturing to her look.
Black’s ensemble stood out during an unusually subdued red carpet, with many celebrities skipping the step-and-repeat — or the event altogether. The night paid tribute to icons including Janet Jackson and Gloria Estefan, but a number of nominated and winning artists sent recorded messages in lieu of attending.
Out of those who did arrive, some, like Black, leaned into the Vegas look, though overall the night’s fashion was disjointed. As the event’s host, Jennifer Lopez had multiple glittering and voluminous outfit changes fit for location, while Benson Boone performed in a bold purple floral suit by Dolce & Gabbana and Shaboozey donned bedazzled plaid chaps by Etro. Ciara arrived in a showgirl-esque Bronx and Banco bodysuit dripping in chains — acknowledging to Billboard that “we gotta bring bling bling to Vegas” in a red-carpet interview, while Heidi Montag glittered in a blue flared jumpsuit by The Blonds.
Though Black might not be rushing off to Vegas’s wedding chapels, bridal looks have a long history of closing out runways. And as the event’s official closer — the AMAs’ afterparty DJ — her irreverent look fit the bill.
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