L’HISTOIRE: Halle Berry’s Fringed Bralette on the 1993 MTV Awards Red Carpet
Her relaxed outfit and flared denim feel more on-trend than ever in 2025.
L’HISTOIRE explores fashion history moments you should know, from what actors wore on a red carpet to celebrities who made cameos on the runway. Some are unsung, and some are better known. Each is part of the fabric of today’s fashion world, be it barrier breakers or culture makers.
Before stylists curated every inch of an awards show appearance and before red carpets became a battleground for high-fashion couture, there was Halle Berry at the 1993 MTV Video Music Awards. With her effortless laid-back confidence, she arrived in a black fringed bralette vest, flared jeans, and open-toed sandals with the most darling chunky flower necklace—an outfit that feels refreshingly casual compared to today's extravagant red carpet ensembles.
While the outfit might seem understated by modern standards, it’s actually right on trend for 2025. Fringe is making a major comeback this spring, from bohemian-inspired jackets to playful, movement-filled tops like Berry’s. Designers such as Proenza Schouler and Kallmeyer are just a few who incorporated modern fringe into their Spring/Summer 2025 collections, proving that what was once a ‘90s staple is back and bolder than ever. And as for the flared jeans? Well, thanks to the latest Super Bowl and what Kendrick Lamar during the Halftime show, it's clear Berry’s whole look is very on-trend, nearly 30 years later, in 2025.
It's not to say we don’t appreciate a gown adorned with 3,000 Swarovski crystals, but the chances of seeing a star step onto the red carpet in denim today are slim to none. Casual red carpet dressing peaked in the early 2000s, with stars like Britney Spears, Destiny’s Child, and even Brad Pitt embracing effortless cool. But by the mid-2010s, high fashion completely took over, and today, anything less than a custom designer piece feels almost unheard of. The fringe and flared jeans resurgence proves what we know well: that trends are cyclical. Will the laid-back approach to red-carpet dressing ever have its comeback?
In the meantime, for those of us who don't have any upcoming red carpet appearances anytime soon and are inspired by Berry's fringed bralette vest, find a similar vest from Wolf&Badger. To shop flared jeans (albeit not Lamar's Celine denim, which instantly sold out post-show), look to Agolde, Everlane, or, for something edgier, Who Decides War.
