It’s the fall 2025 trend that nobody expected to see on the VMA red carpet on Sunday night… polka dots. With the aid of her longtime stylist Law Roach, Ariana Grande walked the red carpet at the 2025 MTV Video Music Awards at the UBS Arena in Elmont, New York, wearing a custom polka dot Fendi gown.
Grande’s black Fendi gown featured a strapless sweetheart neckline, floor-grazing column skirt, and voluminous ruffled pink peplum. The centerpiece is completely covered in white and black polka dots, fall 2025’s favourite trend. She paired the number with a pair of sky-high black stiletto heels, as revealed by her dress’s back slit. Grande’s hair stylist Alyx Liu created a high ponytail, and tied a matching black polka-dot bow in it to coordinate with the column gown. For glam, makeup artist Michael Anthony used a soft-pink eyeshadow on the lids and glossy pink for lips.
But, back to that dress! The polka dot Fendi dress originally went down the label’s fall/winter 2025 runway in February as a minidress, though it was lengthened for Grande’s red carpet appearance on Sunday night. Polka dots were one of the dominant trends during the shows, the classic comeback trend appearing on runways everywhere from Fendi and Moschino to Isabel Marant.
Grande was up for seven awards at the 2025 VMAs, including Video of the Year for “brighter days ahead,” Best Pop Artist, Best Pop for “brighter days ahead,” Best Long Form Video for “brighter days ahead,” Best Direction for “brighter days ahead,” Best Cinematography for “brighter days ahead,” and Best Visual Effects for “brighter days ahead.” She ultimately took home two moonman trophies.
