MTV EMA 2011 :: 06.11.2011 :: Belfast

Though the ladies dominated this year’s field of EMA nominations, when it came to the pink carpet, plenty of gents made an impact with their fashion statements. Last week we mentioned how much we were grooving on Bruno Mars’ sexy retro style. But other dudes went all out with their looks.

Jared Leto (in a self-described ‘manskirt’) and his Thirty Seconds to Mars bandmates went for an edgy ‘Mad Max’-type vibe. Designer Jeremy Scott shimmied and shimmered in his fringed suit. Worldwide Act winners BigBang showed off a punky pop style with plenty of black leather punctuated by pops of bright color. Adam Lambert made a black dress suit anything but boring with iridescent color. And LMFAO took their over-the-top party rock look, well, over the top. Loved the heart medallion, Redfoo!

At the 2011 MTV EMA in Belfast, newcomer Bruno Mars proved himself as an artist with his Best New win and his sensational performance of ‘Marry You’—and he proved he’s got style as well. The Hawaiian-born singer’s music blends doo-wop retro vibes with modern R&B grooves, and his fashion sense reflects that mix.

How good is this guy’s fashion intuition? He and his posse walked the pink carpet in, yes, pink jackets, lending a pop of color to an otherwise understated, slick black dress look. When it comes to his look, Bruno never seems to be trying too hard—his style is as effortlessly smooth as his vocals. We predict we’ll be seeing the Best New EMA winner on the charts and on Best Dressed lists for years to come.

In the weeks leading up to the MTV EMA in Belfast, there was one question (besides ‘who’ll win?’) on everyone’s minds: ‘What will Gaga wear?’ And the fashionista diva definitely did not disappoint. In fact, the ‘Marry the Night’ singer had almost as many costume changes as host Selena Gomez!

On the red carpet, Gaga rocked a bi-level blonde ponytail and a gown that was a futuristic take on chain mail. During her performance, she managed to morph from a wildly flared, flower-like costume into a red metallic two-piece. And for her three onstage acceptance speeches, she sported a variety of gigantic metal headpieces that all but obscured her features—we’re amazed she made it to the podium without a tumble!

We’re in awe of Gaga’s style, but we have one question: Why does she always feel the need to cover up her lovely face? Guess she was just born that way….

Award show looks used to be all about classic (read: boring) glamour and elegance...before MTV came along to shake things up. In recent years at the EMA, irony has predominated: At last year's ceremony, Eva Longoria presented herself onstage dressed as a giant ham ... paying tribute to Lady Gaga and her infamous VMAs meat dress. Then there was Katy Perry with her glitter minidress shaped as a movie ticket with the words "admit one". Clothes are now proper installations – think Katy Perry with her 2008 merry-go-round-minidress. It seems like a lifetime ago that Britney Spears performed in '50s style... and that was in 1999.

Simona Melani, Naomi Fusco and Giuseppe Guerrasio, Melodicamente

With all the great music coming out of Ireland, it’s no surprise we are having the MTV EMA in Belfast this week, and I get to go "whoo-hoo!" I'm looking forward to the Red Hot Chili Peppers, as they were my first ever concert way back when they played with Foo Fighters and Queens of the Stone Age at Slane Castle.

I think the Best Female award is the one everyone will be talking about. These days, powerful ladies with bold, trend-setting style dominate the music world, and it'll be a pretty tough choice between Beyonce, J.Lo, Lady Gaga, Adele, and Katy Perry. These ladies have fierce style on stage and off--I can't wait to see what the winner is wearing when she sashays on stage to accept her award.

See you in Belfast!!

Faye Dinsmore

Music and fashion go hand in hand. The imperative for all stars: Dress to impress. And what better time than the red carpet --a showcase for the creativity of young designers, to show off the latest stylish revolutions that stars have adopted. The red carpet allows plenty of room for creativity, often leaving onlookers breathless. Designers are desperate to dress the artist of the moment for the red carpet.

This year, our eyes will be on the talent performing at the EMA, like Jessie J, Lady Gaga, Bruno Mars. This show could be our first glimpse at the future trends of coming seasons.

Vincenzo, Naples Street Style

Being a pop star is nearly as much about image as music—to pack stadiums, you’ve got to deliver the whole package, including visuals. So it’s no wonder each of the five nominees for the 2011 Best Pop EMA has a distinctive style. Here’s our take on their signature looks:

Britney Spears: She’s matured from the saucy schoolgirl of “…Baby One More Time” into a full-on “Femme Fatale” who dares to bare.

Justin Bieber: When he changed his iconic hairstyle, it caused a public outcry. Need we say more?

Katy Perry: Unique fashion statements like her whipped-cream-shooting bra express Katy’s naughty humor.

Lady Gaga: Lobster hats, crazy heels, plastic bubbles—La Gaga is pure pop performance art.

Rihanna: Sexy style with an edge. The “Good Girl Gone Bad” mixes the feminine with the futuristic.

Fashion and music have never collided so fast as this past Paris Fashion Week. This season, two international stars competed not by their presence at shows, but by their contributions to collections. The matchup: EMA nominees Lady Gaga vs. Kanye West. Interest in Thierry Mugler’s show (his new creative director is her fashion director) was definitely piqued with less novelty materials and restrained design. But without Gaga there to create buzz to satisfy the hungry gossipers, all eyes were on Kanye West, whose debut collection premiered during the week with celebs and fashionistas alike watching. Think he and Gaga will wear their own designs on the EMA red carpet?

Lily, Mademoiselle a Paris

The EMA fashion stakes just got seriously higher with the announcement that Lady Gaga will be in the house—the rest of the celebs in attendance better work extra hard to get noticed! After all, the woman can turn a trip down the red carpet into a work of performance art. Remember when she arrived at the Grammy Awards in a giant egg carried on a litter by attendants? Yeah, that got people’s attention.

We can’t wait to see what Gaga wears for her first-ever EMA live performance. Will she rock one of her signature over-the-top costumes...or surprise us by taking her image in a totally different direction like she did at this year’s VMAs, dressing up as a male alter ego? Only one thing’s for certain: People will be talking about her look the next day.

A lot has been going on in the last few days... but inspiration, like Coco Chanel once said, is not only to be found in fashion but everywhere. I love to walk around on the street and notice the small details, mainly when looking at street art.

When you are sitting with friends laughing, it makes me understand that inspiration comes from everything and not only from reading the latest trends in a magazine.

The warmth of the sun on your skin, sand between your toes and water on your feet, 'bank holidays' that you can enjoy like any Sunday, sitting in a coffee shop and watch other people do their thing, hearing melodies in the air that sounds like new music, all this is inspiration for me, pure inspiration.

With the Chili Peppers confirmed to perform at the EMA, we can’t wait to see what kind of fashion statements the funk-rock foursome will make. After all, they’ve never been a jeans-and-T-shirts kind of band...come to think of it, they don’t seem to be big fans of shirts in general. (Hey, if we had cool arm-band tattoos like frontman Anthony Kiedis, we’d want to show ‘em off too.) Bassist Flea is known for his ever-changing hair colors and wild, often whimsical styles. These four dudes’ out-there look might not work for your average guy next door, but on the Chili Peppers it’s, well, hot.

We all know that the influence between fashion and music has grown fast in recent years. You can see it everywhere now. Many musicians express their feelings and music with fashion.

This is also true when you look at Berlin’s streets you can also find a big show - there is a place you also hear it. I’m talking about Alexanderplatz. It’s the perfect place to shop but moreover the place where street artists go to sing their songs. It’s amazing how many cultures and different people do art in different languages construing the link between fashion and music. It’s like a stage for them and their outfits reflect what they want to say with their music.

Jasmin, My Berlin Fashion

Now that Selena Gomez has been announced as the host of the 2011 MTV EMA in Belfast, there’s one big question on fashionistas’ minds: What is she going to wear???

Past EMA hosts like Katy Perry and Eva Longoria have set the style bar high, with multiple lightning-fast outfit changes and outrageous getups ranging from a carnival carousel dress (Katy) to a human-size ham (Eva). While we doubt Selena will don a meat-inspired ensemble, we’re sure she’s up to the challenge of making a major EMA fashion statement (or several). After all, when it comes to her clothing choices, the 19-year-old shows sophistication and elegance beyond that of many starlets her age. Plus, she’s got a coveted accessory no other VIP can claim... Justin Bieber!

Kanye said that the UK has some of the best shopping in the world. I agree with him.

Living in London (in my opinion, the greatest city in the world) we're lucky to have the remit and creativity to wear whatever we want. Artists turn to London designers when they want something kickass and unique for their videos and performances. Just look at Beyonce in “Run The World” decked out spectacularly in Gareth Pugh.

As a stylist, setting the tone for a shoot is imperative. I know when the music's good, the shoot is spectacular. Sure, I love GaGa, my guilty pleasure is definitely Ke$ha and I'll dance to some Guetta, but for knocking it out the park, you gotta have rock 'n' roll.

Sabrina Bangladesh, Blogger, Journalist and Stylist, The Science of Style

Published in Schön! Magazine
www.schonmagazine.com
Photographer: Grant Thomas @ Jed Root

Though her look has a street-tough punk edge, Jessie J definitely doesn’t ‘Do It Like a Dude’ when it comes to style. The British singer with the jet-black bob says that when she’s on stage, “it's just me, my heels and my mic.” She favors dramatic femme-fatale makeup (think lips painted in intense red or black), statement-making jewelry, and slinky ensembles that are sometimes reminiscent of lingerie.

This year, Jessie is a new face on the EMA nominee roster, and we predict she may emerge as a breakout red carpet icon. After all, we can’t recall another emerging pop star looking fierce while rocking an ankle cast and canes, as she did while serving as the 2011 MTV VMAs house artist! Jessie J has style—and confidence—to spare.

In 1951 G.B. Giorgini staged the first fashion show at Palazzo Pitti; since then a long time has passed and this event started to give even more prominence to the elegance and competitiveness of ‘Made in Italy’, a brand that still unifies the entire peninsula.

From Lady Gaga with her Versace bracelets to Justin Bieber and his love for D&G, to Miley Cyrus and her clothes by Giorgio Armani, Italian fashion clinches its presence in the world of music, dressing artists for events and music videos.

From that moment on Italian stylists have conquered people living in style, asserting themselves as the undisputed leaders of the Prêt-à-porter.

What should we expect this time from the Bel Paese?

Guerrasio Giuseppe, Melodicamente

Colombian superstar Shakira has a flair for the sexy and the dramatic, whether she’s rocking the red carpet in a shiny low-low-low-cut dress or shaking her stuff onstage in a skin-baring ensemble.

The singer posed on the EMA red carpet in 2009 looking elegant in a short silver dress with dramatic black shoulder detail, and sleek straight hair. But when she hit the stage to perform ‘Did It Again’, she sported a dreadlocked ’do and seriously bedazzled panels that resembled armor—yet still managed to show off her hips. (You know, the ones that don’t lie.) In 2010, she showed off those belly-dancer curves again, in a bikini top and shimmy-friendly fringed pants and wrist cuffs.

Even when she’s daring to bare with the whole world watching, Shakira is always confident and in control—and that’s as much a part of her allure as her famous curves.

What fashion differences are there in Europe? As a Parisian girl, I like to keep it chic and simple. No extra pop colours or asymmetric cuts. So because of that I felt like a stranger when I moved to Berlin 4 years ago. Young Berliners are quite experimental with their fashion scene. There is no place for classic. Berliners like to experiment with different styles and especially like the eccentric, so it wasn’t a surprise that when Lady Gaga performed at Berlin Fashion week in 2008, she chose an outfit by Berlin based designer Michalsky. Berlin is definitely a trend setting city – they have personality and don’t follow others.

Amandine, Les Berlinettes (hyperlink: www.lesberlinettes.com)

Usually it’s the ladies’ wardrobe choices that make the biggest splash on the EMA red carpet. But when it comes to the frontman of the German band Tokio Hotel, his risk-taking style statements prove that men’s fashion can be anything but boring.

Bill Kaulitz, who has said he often conceives of the ideas for his costumes, reinvents the glam-punk rock look with bold eye makeup, black leather, and signature gravity-defying hair. (Though he isn’t afraid to get it wet, as he proved at the 2007 EMAs during the band’s performance of “Monsoon.”) Tokio Hotel’s music has earned them an ardent fan following, and Bill’s edgy style has earned him the title of true fashion icon.

At this year's EMAs we'll be bringing you the best red carpet coverage ever. A lucky few may get the rare chance to witness the precession-like fashion parade in person, but for everyone else the live streaming and photography will get you as close as is virtually possible.

As a little reminder of what you can expect we've selected a few of our favourite red carpet snaps from last year's EMAs.

From her early days with Destiny’s Child to her current reign as a solo international megastar, Beyoncé has always been a performer with the whole package—an amazing voice, great dance moves, and standout style. Even before she starts singing, her onstage presence is commanding; her costumes are her performances.

Who else could rock a low-cut red corset and garter stockings and still look sophisticated? That’s what B did singing ""Sweet Dreams"" on the 2009 EMA stage. On the opposite end of the spectrum was the dress she wore to perform “If I Were a Boy” in 2008—fierce, futuristic, and feminine all at once.

Elegance with a hip-hop edge: That’s Beyoncé all the way.

I read that Manchester has the highest number of sales for skinny jeans in the world, and why not? They go with everything: heels, Converse, Toms, boots, sandals, flats...I could go on! At first I was unsure why, but if you think about the musical influences here, all becomes clear. The Gallagher brothers, Richard Ashcroft, and Morrissey (to name but a few) were all born and raised in Manchester and were all in very successful rock bands. Prior to that, the Beatles from Liverpool and the Rolling Stones from London made a powerful fashion impact with their pipe-leg trousers and skinny jeans. What can I say--if there’s one thing we love more than our football, it’s our music and fashion.

--Karena, My New Best Friends

From the spinning carousel dress she donned hosting the 2008 EMAs to the whipped-cream-spouting bra she sported in the “California Gurls” video, Katy Perry turns fashion into performance art.

Popping with sparkles and girly details, the singer’s style is sexy and silly at once. Who could forget whimsical looks like her sparkly “Admit One” ticket dress on the 2010 EMA red carpet? Or the saucy 2008 gown that made it look like her decolletage had eyes?

It’s no wonder Katy was chosen as the voice of Smurfette in the new ‘Smurfs’ movie: “I feel very cartoony at times, just in the way I present myself,” she has said. “So it was a natural progression—something natural for me to do.” Leave it to Katy to make cartoon style look natural...not to mention sexy and chic.

This is the beginning of a serious fashion feast. In the buildup to this year’s MTV EMAs in Belfast we’ll be setting the tone for some pretty special red carpet action and backstage access. Between now and 6th November, we’ll be retrieving, reviewing and revisiting some of the previous style highlights of the EMAs' 16-year history.

To add some fashion-themed goodness to the mix we’ll also be dropping tips for some of the host city's top fashion spots and local design talent. To help us in our endeavour to collate the best information, professional model and all-round Irish fashion enthusiast Faye Dinsmore will be on hand. Faye will be contributing articles and suggesting talent worthy of your attention as well as taking the helm as the next guest editor of Swatch MTV Playground.

Stay tuned over the coming months as we slowly un-roll the MTV EMAs Red Carpet.