Can Someone Ask Britney Spears How It Feels to Still Be the Standard?
By Alexus Mosley
Photo Credit: Getty Images
Someone get Britney Spears on the line. We have a fashion question.
After the 2026 Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show in Los Angeles, Bella Hadid stepped out in a sheer black lace minidress that prompted a little red-carpet déjà vu. The high neckline. The long sleeves. The visible lingerie. If your mind immediately went to Britney at the 2001 MTV Video Music Awards, please take your seat. You know your fashion history.
For that appearance, Spears wore a sheer navy-blue Dolce & Gabbana lace mini over a matching bra and low-rise boyshorts. With tousled blonde hair and delicate embellished sandals, the look was equal parts semi-sweet and semi-mischievous.
Hadid’s version brought its own after-dark attitude: black lace, a scalloped hem, pointed pumps, and narrow sunglasses. Where Britney’s styling had that unmistakable early-aughts pop-princess charm, Bella’s felt sleek and ready for a late reservation. Different accessories but a familiar allure.
Photo Credit: Backgrid
Bella isn’t the only one to bring this particular Britney reference back into the conversation. At the 2024 VMAs, Tate McRae revisited the look in a custom Roberto Cavalli lace dress designed by Fausto Puglisi. Britney’s 2001 outfit has quite the social calendar for something that already had its big night. That is what makes these fashion flashbacks so satisfying. An outfit can belong completely to its era and still make perfect sense on someone heading to a party decades later. Change the shoes, adjust the hair, add sunglasses after sunset, and suddenly the archive has evening plans.
So, can someone ask Britney Spears how it feels to still be the standard? We’ll wait.