I love awards season. Not only am I the type to get emotional and cry at the acceptance speeches, but good fashion, too? What more can I ask for? With glamorous events ranging from the BAFTAs to film premieres, the red carpets have been rolled out, packed up and immediately rolled out again for these momentous nights. 

Awards season has always been a major source for fashion inspiration. This year, my three favorite looks have been Doechii’s Thom Browne dress at the Grammys, Anna Sawai’s crystal Armani Privé for the SAG Awards and Mark Eydelshteyn’s Alexander McQueen embellished suit at the BAFTAs.  

While I appreciate that men’s suits are starting to get more interesting, women’s dresses continue to literally outshine them with a coy interplay of texture, light and structure. Sure, the men looked great, but the women looked out of this world — and their clothes have only contributed to their goddess status.

Daily headlines, sent straight to your inbox.

Subscribe to our newsletter to keep up with the latest at and around USC.

What’s really giving the red carpet a run for its trendsetting money is the revival of two of the original fashion and style influences: music videos and pop stars. Two major trailblazers even have similar last names: Tate McRae and Addison Rae. Talk about melodic, am I right? 

McRae’s music video for her hit song “Sports car” featured 12 different looks, including archival pieces from Roberto Cavalli and independent brands such as The Blonds.

McRae played into the idea of 12 alter egos, like the famous “Tatiana” or the Dreaming Eli and Agent Provocateur-wearing “MerTate,” as described by stylist Brett Alan Nelson. 

Nelson wanted to push the boundaries of music video style and fashion, and he strongly encouraged McRae to bring as much high fashion as possible to her video, rather than whatever’s currently trending. 

And boy, were we fed some looks. The video starts out with a bang, as McRae wears a spring 2007 runway Cavalli set with opera gloves and a lampshade hat; later on, we see her in a Bambi-like fur bodysuit, paired perfectly with McQueen boots. Don’t forget about her multiple-feet-high heels in her all-black feather outfit, custom 3D printed by designer Sam Macer. 

These new versions of Tate even come with changes in makeup and hair, as her signature brown hair was turned blonde or dyed with thick stripes, almost like a punk Gyaru style. 

While McRae has turned up the heat since her transition from a dancer to a pop star, my favorite fact from the entire music video is that she saved the Cavalli set on her Pinterest years ago. If anything, her video is just proof that manifestation works. 

She credits the past for her Y2K red carpet looks, too, explaining that her September VMAs black lace dress served as a nod to Britney Spears. Another Britney-obsessed pop queen serving high fashion — literally, in her song “High Fashion” — is Addison Rae.

Rae has historically proclaimed her love for Britney Spears. A famous paparazzi photo was snapped of Rae reading Spears’ memoir, and Rae brought Spears up in interviews during her early TikTok days. In her new music video, she again makes a clear reference to Britney’s famous $1 million Bob Mackie bra, pairing her own crystal bra with the same styling choice of a crystal fringe scarf tied over jeans. 

While other looks in the video are other media nods, such as the ruby red shoes and blue gingham dress that parallel Dorothy in “The Wizard of Oz” (1939), one nod that a lot of viewers missed was the gorgeous hot pink closet. 

The abundance of dream shoes and a nostalgic hot pink color masked the clothes hanging in the side of the shot, but Victoria’s Secret revealed that in Rae’s closet lie some of the archived runway pieces from its earlier fashion shows. Rae’s stylist, Dara, framed it perfectly — the music video intended to indulge “in glamour in a way that’s … not for the rest of [the world] to understand.” 

Although both McRae and Rae are stars in their own right, it is no coincidence that their stylistic visions and sources of inspiration lead back to such a powerhouse individual who became a star by taking risks: Spears. Dealing with a mass of obstacles on her own throughout life, Spears’  songs, music videos, performances and red carpet looks remain a source of inspiration to this day. 

You could argue that this is just another reiteration of the fashion trend cycle or a non-atypical coincidence of finding inspiration from pop royalty, but remaining iconic is a true testament to what real influence is. Standing among household names like Cavalli, and maybe, one day, McRae or Rae, Spears has developed beyond star power into mindsets and important legal cases, such as the fight against her conservatorship. 

While such legendary status isn’t bestowed with the requirement of overcoming immense hardship, what renews it is her continued commitment to create and be creative, even if we no longer get the vision.

So, while Spears remains a core influencer on the street and on the radio, such an undeniable fact can only lead to one definitive wish: Bring Britney back. 

Hadyn Phillips is a senior writing about fashion in the 21st century, spotlighting new trends and popular controversy in her column, “That’s Fashion, Sweetie,” which runs every Wednesday.