Ever since she released her debut album in 1983, Madonna has been expressing herself through style and has had an impact on what’s in vogue every step of the way.
White tulle and cone bras come to mind as much as crucifixes and Marilyn Monroe-esque ensembles. Whether on tour, in music videos, or attending awards shows, what Madonna wears continues to be part of the conversation.
In honor of the Queen of Pop’s fashion evolution, we’re shining a ray of light on her many sartorial reinventions over the decades of her lucky stardom. Open your heart and get into the fashion groove, ahead.
1983: The “Lucky Star” music video
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Starlight, star bright, the star’s first look we see in the ’80s is her “Lucky Star” video ensemble, consisting of a black mesh crop top, black fingerless lace gloves, a black ribbon in her hair, a black skirt over leggings, and stars and crucifixes (both of which will constantly show up in her looks to come) dangling from her ears and around her waist.
1984: At the first VMAs
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Wearing a white corset atop a white tulle skirt dotted with hearts, white elbow-length fingerless gloves, starry earrings, crucifix pendants, and a belt buckle stamping “BOY TOY” across her stomach, the pop star made awards show history and shocked the world when she performed “Like a Virgin” at the very first MTV Video Music Awards. She emerged from the top of a wedding cake before writhing and rolling around the VMA stage.
1985: Onstage at Madison Square Garden
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To perform in New York in 1985, she maximized her layered thrift-store look with bright lace leggings under a mismatched skirt, fingerless lace gloves, a bright patterned jacket, and black kitten-heeled booties.
1985: In Desperately Seeking Susan
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Madonna’s mid-’80s edgy look was perfected in Desperately Seeking Susan, in which she spent most of the film wearing a lacy black top under a black and gold embellished jacket and wildly accessorized with stacks of bracelets, lace gloves, a thick hair bow, and strands upon strands of necklaces (some bearing religious symbols).
1985: The “Material Girl” music video
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Queen Madge channeled Marilyn Monroe for her “Material Girl” music video, which was heavily inspired by Monroe’s iconic performance of “Diamonds Are a Girl’s Best Friend” in the 1953 film Gentlemen Prefer Blondes. Madonna copied Monroe’s William Travilla dress — a bubblegum-pink strapless satin sheath with a waisted belt and a huge bow, lined in black at the back — as well as her choreography with an army of male admirers, right down to hitting one of the men with a black lace fan.
1986: The “Papa Don’t Preach” music video
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The feminine hairstyling and piles of jewelry vanished in the “Papa Don’t Preach” music video, which saw the pop star trying out an androgynous new look. For the action of the unwanted pregnancy-themed clip, she’s the ultimate cool woman in jeans and a leather jacket, while some sequences of her singing and dancing put the star in a black corset and pants, accessorized only with a thick black belt.
1987: The “La Isla Bonita” music video
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“La Isla Bonita” marked Madonna’s first foray into Latin-influenced music and style, and she embraced that aspect of the song fully when selecting the wardrobe for the track’s music video. Throughout the clip, she alternates between playing a religious woman wearing very plain clothes and a dancer in a voluminous red flamenco dress with flowers in her hair.
1989: The “Like a Prayer” music video
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Madonna’s interest in religious themes and her fixation with Catholic imagery peak with “Like a Prayer,” which some might say is her all-time greatest single. Her wardrobe is relatively understated in the track’s music video: a lace-trimmed, black fitted slip dress and a crucifix necklace, all finished off with — most shocking of all! — dark hair worn in loose curls.
1989: The “Express Yourself” music video
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The David Fincher-directed “Express Yourself” music video takes the song’s title literally, visually referencing the 1927 German expressionist film Metropolis. Madonna appears in part of the clip as an elegant woman in a chartreuse dress. However, she plays with gender-bending fashion in other shots, wearing a boxy black suit, flattened hair, and — most curiously — a monocle.
1990: The “Vogue” music video
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For most of the dance sequences in the black-and-white “Vogue” music video (also directed by Fincher), Madonna strikes her poses wearing an all-black suit that unbuttons to reveal a black bra. However, it was the sheer lace top she wears for a short scene at the beginning of the clip that got a reaction, sparking outrage for being see-through.
1990: Onstage during the Blonde Ambition tour
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Yes, we’ve made it. We’ve reached the cone bra. The spiky pink corset, designed by Jean Paul Gaultier, that Madonna wore on her Blonde Ambition tour made underwear-as-outerwear history and inspired copycats for years after the fact.
1990: Onstage at the seventh VMAs
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For another unforgettable VMAs performance, Madonna channeled yet another legendary Material Girl, going full Marie Antoinette to perform “Vogue” at the 1990 show.
1991: At the 63rd Academy Awards
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Attending the Oscars with Michael Jackson, Madonna harkened back to Monroe once again with a short platinum blonde ‘do, a sparkly white gown, and a luxurious white fur.
1992: The “Erotica” music video
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Madonna released Erotica (the album) and Sex (the racy coffee table book) concurrently in 1992, at which time she started even more explicitly exploring sexuality with her work. The music video for the album’s title track includes footage from the making of Sex, intercut with Madonna playing the masked Mistress Dita, her gold-toothed dominatrix alter ego. As Dita, she wears a sheer black blouse with a crisp white collar and cuffs over a black corset, topped with a thick black necktie.
1993: Onstage during the Girlie Show tour
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The 1993 Girlie Show world tour saw Madonna looking eastward for fashion inspiration. To sing “Vogue” during the show, she wore an Indian-inspired black headpiece along with her beaded black bra, sparkling shorts, and patent leather heeled combat boots.
1998: The “Ray of Light” music video
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In the late ’90s, Madonna’s life changed dramatically with the birth of her first child, Lourdes, and her big-screen triumph with Evita, for which she won a Golden Globe. The pop star also began to study Kabbalah during this period. The new perspective it gave her was strongly reflected on her seventh studio album, Ray of Light, as well as on what she wore in the presentation of it. For the title track’s music video, scenes of life around the world are intercut with Madonna dancing in front of a bright blue sky, wearing a denim jacket, jeans, and her red Kabbalah string bracelet.
1999: Onstage at the 41st Grammys
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Madonna continued her Eastern-inspired ensembles when she performed at the Grammys in the same red kimono she wore in her “Nothing Really Matters” video.
2000: The “American Pie” music video
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To cover Don McLean’s classic in 2000, Madonna really went low-key, performing the song in front of an American flag, wearing a plain lace-trimmed camisole and jeans.
2003: Onstage at the 20th VMAs
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The infamous 2003 VMAs! Madonna opened the show with her pop diva successors, Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera, who both wore white outfits that referenced the Queen of Pop’s “Like a Virgin” days. Madonna herself wore a top hat and tails over a black corset, though she took off the hat and coat before planting a kiss on both of the pop princesses.
2005: The “Hung Up” music video
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For 2005’s “Hung Up” music video, Madonna took it back to basics, singing the disco track while wearing a hot pink leotard with a purple sequined belt and dancing alone around a mirrored dance studio.
2012: Onstage during the Super Bowl XLVI halftime show
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Madonna was a true pop goddess at the 2012 Super Bowl, where she headlined the halftime show (with assists from M.I.A., Nicki Minaj, LMFAO, and CeeLo Green) in a towering headdress over her black gold-edged outfit, topped with a gilded gladiator belt.
2013: At the Met Gala
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The 2013 Met Gala theme was “Punk: Chaos to Couture,” and for someone who has defiantly subverted expectations — with fashion and otherwise — throughout her life, Madonna was ready for it. She attended the ball wearing a belted and studded plaid jacket over a fishnet bodysuit, finishing off the look with a straight black wig, black leather gloves, and hot pink heels.
2015: The “Living for Love” music video
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Madonna leaned back into the Spanish influences that inspired her so much in the ’80s with 2015’s “Living for Love” music video, in which she wore a series of bullfighter costumes (along with cross necklaces, naturally).
2015: The “Bitch I’m Madonna” music video
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Madonna went candy-colored for the buoyant music video for this Rebel Heart track, dancing through the clip in a white leopard-print dress, a hot pink studded jacket, and hair to match.
2018: At the Met Gala
Madonna at the 2018 Met Gala.
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If anyone could dress for 2018’s “Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination” Met Gala theme, it would be Queen Madge. Turning to her old pal Jean Paul Gaultier for the look, she wore a voluminous black dress with a matching veil, topped with a smattering of crosses at her neck and in her glittering crown.
2019: The “Medellín” music video
“Medellín” music video.
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“From now on, I am Madame X, and Madame X loves to dance,” Madonna says as the “Medellín” music video opens. Madonna breaks from the bright colors and religious iconography for a look that’s something akin to a pirate dominatrix. The video opens with the singer in a white dress shirt with red leather suspenders accented by a tie, black elbow-length leather gloves, and a black skirt. Also, there’s that notable red leather eye patch. The look later evolves into a white wedding dress with a white cowboy hat and a single red leather glove. Also, there’s still an eye patch, but it’s silver and metallic. —Dustin Nelson
2022: The “Hung Up on Tokischa” music video
“Hung Up on Tokischa” music video.
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Madonna went for a whole new look in the video for “Hung Up on Tokischa,” which features, unsurprisingly, the rapper Tokischa. Throughout much of the video, Madonna sports bleached eyebrows, a grill, red hair, and a variety of ensembles that hew to the shadowy, lo-fi, sexy vibe director Sasha Kasiuha was pursuing. Madonna’s ‘fits feature brightly colored, loose-fitting athleisure wear paired with lingerie and accessorized with fishnets, bracelet stacks, fingerless gloves, a Mets cap, and thigh-high leather boots. —D.N.
2023: At the 65th Grammys
Madonna at the 65th Grammy Awards.
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This time, Madonna appeared only briefly at the Grammys to introduce Kim Petras and Sam Smith. But she still caused a stir, even if the focus wasn’t entirely on her clothes. Nonetheless, her wardrobe was notable for being a relatively conservative ensemble. Her hair was pulled back in braided pigtails with a pair of dangling, tight braids along the side of her face. She also sported a matching black blazer and maxi skirt over a white collared shirt and black tie. Though, naturally, there was some flair. The outfit was accompanied by fishnets and purple platform heels. —D.N.
2023: “The Enlightenment” for Vanity Fair
Madonna’s ‘Vanity Fair’ shoot.
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In a cover shoot for Vanity Fair, Madonna found new looks that contained strong echoes of her interest in religious iconography through bold, though no longer shocking, Christian motifs. A wan Madonna is seen in a shimmering robe, posing regally like the Virgin Mary with a punctured sacred heart placed in the middle of her chest. She is surrounded by models in a recreation of the Last Supper that puts the dinner’s attendees in a gluttonous, hedonistic light. At other points in the video, her outfits find inspiration in Mexican culture and the painter Frida Kahlo. (Madonna reportedly owns at least two Kahlo paintings.) While the pop star’s wardrobe changes throughout the video, she remains ever stoic and garbed like a religious figurehead. —D.N.
2023: The Celebration tour
Madonna during the Celebration tour.
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For her 2023–24 Celebration tour, Madonna delved deeper into twists on boxing gear, as she did on the cover of and promotion for 2008’s Hard Candy. As any fan would expect, there’s a deluge of costume changes during the tour, but her boxing-inspired outfit turned heads during each night’s second act. She dons a silky dark robe tied with a large white sash over boots that lace up to her knees. When the robe is untied, she reveals a slip dress underneath. —D.N.
