Jennifer Lopez’s 1998 VMAs Look Is So Iconic That Kim, Kendall, and Paris Stole Her Style
With a career spanning three decades, Jennifer Lopez has enough iconic looks to stage her very own Fashion Week runway show (which we'd definitely sneak into for front-row seats). But even when she was just starting to step out, she was proving to be a force of fashion.
Case in point: the 1998 MTV VMAs, when Lopez hit the carpet in a relatively simple ensemble that included a black leather skirt and a spangly mesh halter. It was her first visit to the show, but the look turned out to be something that lived on long after the last Moonman was handed out that night.
Lopez's other standout looks may steal the show (ahem, low-cut Versace), but it's this seemingly innocent mesh top that's managed to stand the test of time. Paris Hilton wore a dress by Julien Macdonald that had the same slinky metal material for her 21st birthday in 2002. She wore hers with a coordinating rhinestone choker, not a longline leather skirt, but the similarities are there.
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Kendall Jenner famously recreated the look for her own 21st birthday in 2016, even captioning a post-party pic with the words, "Paris Hilton vibes." Paris addressed the homage, telling Grazia, "I was really flattered and I thought she looked stunning and I thought 'It is the perfect birthday dress,' especially when you're turning 21! So it was really nice to see her wearing that and she looked gorgeous."
Both Hilton and Jenner even re-wore the dresses after the fact. Jenner slipped into the sexy number again for the British Fashion Awards and Paris dusted hers off for a DJ set in Miami to celebrate Art Basel.
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Not to be outdone, Jenner's big sis Kim Kardashian (who was famously once employed by Hilton) also took the look out for a spin. In late 2018, post-Paris and post-Kendall, Kim staged a photo shoot with the same sparkling mini for Instagram.
So, while Hilton may get the lion's share of credit when it comes to the now-iconic liquid-metal look, Lopez was the first one to give it its time in the spotlight.