Fashion’s Hall of Fame: Gisele Bündchen’s Bedazzled Bling at the 1999 VH1/Vogue Fashion Awards
By Alexus Mosley
Photo Credit: Jim Smeal/Getty Images
The bedazzled choker that launched a thousand moodboards. When Gisele Bündchen popped up at the 1999 VH1/Vogue Fashion Awards holding her trophy like it was just another shiny accessory, she was unknowingly making fashion history. Giving us one of the most replayed looks in supermodel history, the formula was simple but deadly effective. Her crisp white button-down was worn casually open over a black bra, a leather mini skirt, knee-high boots, and a rhinestone Dolce & Gabbana belt from the brand’s Spring/Summer 2000 collection that was doing Olympic-level heavy lifting.
The late ’90s were peak “model as main character” years, when supermodels didn’t just wear clothes, they decided what cool looked like. Gisele’s outfit hit that sweet spot between undone and intentional. It whispered, “I didn’t try,” while screaming “This will be referenced forever.” And referenced forever it will be indeed.
Photo Credit: Jim Smeal/Getty Images
And let’s talk about that belt for a second. The rhinestone Dolce & Gabbana belt didn’t just accessorize the outfit. It was the outfit. It’s the kind of piece that turns a basic uniform like a white shirt + black mini into a fashion moment that lives on in Pinterest boards, stylist archives, and your favorite model-off-duty TikToks.
This look also quietly predicted the Y2K era before the Y2K era knew it was coming. I mean, it’s hard to see these photos and not think of Paris Hilton’s 21st birthday dress (yes, that’s the one). It had just enough sparkle to flirt with maximalism, just enough restraint to still feel grown. This was late-’90s polish meeting early-2000s party girl energy. A transitional icon, if you will.
What makes this Fashion Hall of Fame–worthy is the fact that you could recreate this outfit today, post it online, and the girls would still get it. Talk about a fit that refuses to age. No wonder she took home the prestigious "Model of the Year" award.
The Styled Chat’s Fashion’s Hall of Fame isn’t only about couture gowns and dramatic trains, but about the outfits that quietly rewrite the rules of cool. You know, the ones that look effortless but secretly reshape the way everyone gets dressed afterward.
And yes. We are still thinking about that belt.