Donatella Versace herself gave Swift her stamp of approval

PHOTO: JASON KEMPIN/GETTY

After wearing colorful sequins and romantic gowns for months while on her U.S. Eras Tour, Taylor Swift and her style took a daring turn at the 2023 MTV VMAs.

The Midnights singer, 33, arrived on the red carpet in a skin-baring Versace halter-neck gown featuring a thigh-high slit and gold buttons along the ruched bodice. She rounded out her look with layers of gold necklaces and black stilettos.

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She decided to keep her makeup subdued with smokey eyes and a nude lip.

Donatella Versace shared a carousel of photos of the singer in the dress to Instagram, writing a heartfelt note about creating the look for her. She wrote, “@taylorswift, I couldn’t have been prouder to design this dress for your gorgeous entrance to the VMAs tonight. You have dominated the world with your tour and your music is timeless. You’re already winning big tonight! Love you ♥️”

Early on in the show, Swift took home the award for best pop for “Anti-Hero.” During her acceptance speech, she (relatably) fangirled over NSYNC’s onstage reunion and expressed her love for creating pop music.

Showing up in style is always been her MO for any red carpet event. At last year’s VMAs, she made a surprise appearance in a crystal-covered Oscar de la Renta minidress featuring an open back.

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While the musician has faithfully attended the awards show over the last decade, she especially couldn’t miss this year’s ceremony considering she has the possibility of becoming the most awarded artist in VMAs history.

Swift leads this year’s nominees with 11 nods and would need to win just six in order to become the most decorated artist of all time.

In addition to the two biggest awards of the night — artist of the year and album of the year — she has also been nominated for video of the year for “Anti-Hero,” song of the year, best pop, best direction, best cinematography, best visual effects, best editing, show of the summer, and song of the summer.

But even if she doesn’t break Madonna’s long-held record tonight, Swift is already the only artist who has ever won the VMAs video of the year category three times. She previously took home the statuette in 2015 for her song “Bad Blood,” then again in 2019 for “You Need to Calm Down,” and finally in 2022 for “All Too Well: The Short Film.” If she wins again tonight, she will beat her own record for most wins in this category.

The 2023 MTV VMAs are airing live from The Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey on Tuesday, Sept. 12 on CBS and BET, BET Her, VH1, Comedy Central, CMT, Logo, MTV, MTV2, Nickelodeon and Paramount Network. Viewers can also catch the show through an MTV.com live stream or on Paramount+.