This Is What The 1998 MTV VMAs Looked Like

It doesn’t get more ’90s than the 1998 MTV Video Music Awards. 

The awards show, which took place in Los Angeles, was the gift that just kept giving: Gwen Stefani showed up in a fuzzy blue bra, hoop skirt and platform flip-flops; Sarah Michelle Gellar and Alyson Hannigan served up some Buffy and Willow realness; Mariah Carey shared a diva moment with Whitney Houston. 

That year, Rose McGowan, then dating Marilyn Manson, also walked the carpet in her ultra-sheer, black beaded dress that left nothing to the imagination. McGowan, one of the most outspoken voices of the Me Too movement, said the dress ― widely considered one of the VMAs most memorable looks ― was actually meant to be a silent protest against Hollywood and Harvey Weinstein. 

“That was my first public appearance after being sexually assaulted. I was like, ‘Is this what you want?’” McGowan told Dr. Oz earlier this year. “I’ve never worn something like that before or since. That was a political statement. Of course, there was no Twitter at the time or Instagram, no way to speak for yourself.”

See more top fashion moments from the 1998 VMAs below: