Sabrina Carpenter, the Disney Channel star turned pop diva, arrived at the VMAs last night in a look that paid homage to two iconic blondes. As Alexis Novak of Tab Vintage told Vogue, the gown was first seen on Madonna, while also referencing Marilyn’s classic Hollywood elegance.
However, the dress wasn’t inspired by a costume from Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, as Novak has stated, but a Travilla number from the costume department at Twentieth Century-Fox, worn by Marilyn for her guest spot on The Jack Benny Show in September 1953, and again at the premiere of How to Marry a Millionaire in November.
“When Monroe arrived at Fox early in this day to prepare for this auspicious occasion, she announced ‘I want to be all platinum and white tonight.’ She was addressing her studio glamour squad: Travilla, hairstylist Gladys Rasmussen, and makeup man Allan ‘Whitey’ Snyder. By the time she made a dazzling entrance at the premiere, nearly everything she wore was on loan from the studio. Travilla fashioned the gown in a sort of sexy fairy-princess style (from leftover material he used for June Haver in The Girl Next Door). It is white lace over nude crepe with the lace embellished by thousands of tiny opalescent sequins. A sash of white satin and a matching train added extra pizzazz … The gloves, earrings, shoes, and even the platinum polish on her finger and toenails were all property of Fox. The fur, an unusual combination of a muff on the end of a stole, was Marilyn’s.
When this fabulous evening was over, Monroe had to report back to the studio like she was Cinderella, stripped of all her glittering finery. She didn’t care. The night had been a supreme triumph, capping years of hard work and dogged self-improvement.
In 1991 Madonna came close to recreating Marilyn’s overall look when she sang ‘Sooner or Later’ from Dick Tracy on the Academy Awards telecast.”
– Christopher Nickens, Marilyn in Fashion
Madonna’s gown was designed by Bob Mackie, who started his career as an assistant to Hollywood costumer Jean Louis – he drew the costume sketch for Marilyn’s ‘Happy Birthday Mr President’ dress in 1962 – before establishing himself as the ultra-glam designer of choice to the likes of Cher, Tina Turner, and the cast of TV’s Dynasty.
“Maria Schiavo, a well-known fashion stylist, borrowed my sample of this dress for a Madonna cover shoot for Vanity Fair,” Mackie recalled via Instagram. “Less than a week later, Madonna herself called and requested her own version of the dress,” which he describes as a “satin sequin and beaded bias strapless evening gown, with pearl and crystal embellishments.”
Madonna’s dress – which appears whiter than the silvery sample – went on display in 2013, as part of a pop-up showcase for her Material Girl tween fashion line at Macy’s department store. She would wear it again in a photo shoot for her Rebel Heart tour in 2015.
The Mackie dress was loaned to actress Fran Drescher for an episode of her sitcom The Nanny in 1994. “When Brenda Cooper [the show’s costume designer] was looking for an Audrey Hepburn moment for the show, she went to Bob Mackie’s studio and found the sample of this piece,” Alexis Novak told Vogue. “Madonna still has the custom gown Bob Mackie made for her in her archive, but the other sample piece [from the Vanity Fair shoot] is the one I believe we have.”
More spuriously, celebrity siblings Kim and Kourtney Kardashian aped Madonna and her Oscars escort, Michael Jackson, at a Halloween party in 2017. It doesn’t appear to be the same dress, however, and Mackie would criticise Kim for wearing Marilyn’s original ‘birthday dress‘ by Jean Louis to the Met Gala in 2022. (The reality TV star went on to reprise ‘Sooner or Later’ with co-star Emma Roberts in a 2023 episode of the Netflix anthology series, American Horror Story.)
The dress no doubt brings back fond memories for Madonna, as ‘Sooner or Later‘ – written for her by Broadway maestro Stephen Sondheim – won the Academy Award for Best Original Song in 1991. And it appears that Sabrina Carpenter has caught that lucky streak, as she picked up her first VMA last night when this summer’s anthem, ‘Espresso‘, was named Song of the Year.
And finally, Sabrina slipped into another costume for her space-age themed performance of ‘Please Please Please,’ drawing comparisons to Britney Spears’ ‘Oops…I Did It Again’ (2000), Madonna’s ‘Give Me All Your Luvin’ (2012), and of course, Marilyn’s ‘Diamonds Are a Girl’s Best Friend’ (from 1953’s Gentlemen Prefer Blondes.)
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Sabrina Carpenter Gets Catsuit Inspiration From Marilyn
Sabrina Carpenter drew upon Old Hollywood influences when selecting designs for her Short and Sweet Tour – including Marilyn’s costume from the ‘Lazy‘ number in There’s No Business Like Show Business – as the singer tells Vogue.
“At the end of the day, like I have to just be so comfortable in the outfits, and if I’m not, like the performance is two outta 10, so first comes like comfort level, then comes like what can we do for the girls, and then comes like, you know, how can we round this out and make this feel so unique?
And the whole show takes us through one night. It’s inspired by Playboy After Dark, but it’s Sabrina After Dark. Act two is obviously like the cocktail hour, and it’s where things are starting to heat up. Everyone’s like a little tipsy, not too crazy, but like, you know, the band starts to get a little more jazzy.
Our renditions and arrangements change, but then the next outfit is like not corseted. That’s the one where I’m doing the bulk I would say of like the movement in the show is in the second act. So having the catsuit in that act has been really helpful for movement.
Marilyn Monroe wears a good amount of catsuits. There’s one from There’s No Business Like Show Business. It’s slack with a teal sash, and she’s in a little dancer heel. And like – We tried the sash. That didn’t go well.
Even like I was always really inspired by like Audrey Hepburn in Funny Face because of how classic and minimal and how much she’s moving in that movie, and you can really see her movements because of the black. And it just looked so sleek.
It was always really exciting that it could be black and snatched. And then you added the gloves and little details, and that’s what’s made it feel kind of more unique to me.”
Sabrina Carpenter’s ‘Nonsense Christmas’ With Marilyn
For her 2024 Netflix special, A Nonsense Christmas With Sabrina Carpenter, the pop star once again paid homage to ‘Diamonds Are a Girl’s Best Friend’ – and, perhaps, Madonna’s ‘Material Girl’ – wearing a strapless magenta gown with black evening gloves and jewellery for her opening number, ‘Buy Me Presents‘, staged upon a tiered red cake.
She also wore this pink Vivienne Westwood minidress – described by Elle as Marilyn-inspired – to a 2025 Golden Globes pre-party.
Red-Carpet Blues: Sabrina + Marilyn, Once Removed
Sabrina arrived at the 2025 Grammys (taking home two awards) in a baby blue marabou dress custom-made by JW Anderson, and possibly inspired by a costume designed by Edith Head for What a Way to Go! (1964), as Harper’s Bazaar reports.
This Twentieth Century-Fox musical comedy had been mooted as Marilyn’s next project – under the working title of I Love Louisa – during negotiations to reinstate her on Something’s Got to Give, but after her death, Shirley MacLaine took on the role.
And finally, you can read more about Sabrina’s latest Vogue shoot here.
The Marilyn Report 
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