The 2026 American Music Awards Was A Fashion Flop For These Celebs

Once again, we have been graced with yet another award show, bringing together our favorite celebrities to walk the red carpet and give us some fashion choices to gawk at. This Memorial Day was celebrated by the 2026 American Music Awards, which were hosted by the iconic Queen Latifah. The AMAs highlighted the most popular musical artists of the year so far, awarding K-Pop group BTS with the coveted artist of the year award and featuring performances from Twenty One Pilots, Sombr, Katseye, and more. While die-hard fans put in their final votes for their favorite artists, celebrities made their way down the AMAs red carpet, putting fashion at center stage before the main event.

The red carpet (or shall we say blue carpet) featured an eclectic group of celebs, ranging from reality television stars to the hottest names in music today. It's important to note that while the AMAs are indeed an award show, the looks that are often served don't lean quite as formal as they do at an event like the Oscars or the Grammys. While some celebrities tend to go more casual, others take the AMAs as an opportunity to make a bold fashion statement — whether or not that ends up working out for them is up to our interpretation. Here's a roundup of some of the more questionable fashion choices on the AMAs red carpet.

Hilary Duff stepped out in a glimmering chainmail custom Rabanne dress and not much else. The unaccompanied look lacked much-needed accessories to distract from the silhouette. A deep plunging neckline calls for some sort of jewelry. The Y2K dress on its own isn't offensive, but on Duff, who usually looks incredible, it doesn't look like it's been fitted to her body. The draping of fabric in the center creates an odd shape that doesn't suit her figure. Overall, it looks like she took the dress right off the rack instead of having it professionally fitted and styled.

Matt Rife has never been one to serve a fashion statement, and he's certainly not starting any time soon. This look is an example of how the AMAs' undefined dress code sets a confused tone for the evening's fashions. Rife wore a Louis Vuitton denim-on-denim look that makes its viewer almost as distressed as the denim itself. The pants appear to be a tad too long, bunching together at the bottom instead of falling nicely. The black shirt underneath blends in and leaves far too much neck room, which brings us up to the frosted tips that don't do the comedian any favors. With all the damage Rife has done to his image, the last thing he needed was this fashion don't.

"Love Island USA" star Amaya Espinal arrived rather tied up at the AMAs red carpet. It cannot be denied that Espinal's silhouette is killer, but the nude wrapped look makes her appear like she's tangled in some sort of poorly made net. The dress gathers well at the top and bust, but becomes a complete mess at the bottom. The structure of the dress falls apart the lower it goes, as fabric is continuously looped through various metallic rings. The dress creates an odd, thick, braided effect below that cannot be ignored, despite Espinal's 10/10 face and body card.

Soap opera star Lisa Rinna has been known to step out in some bold red-carpet looks. While some tend to work in her favor, others don't quite hit the mark. Rinna's chocolate brown ERL pant suit featured structured shoulder pads and a wide, boot cut pair of slacks to match. On its own, the look might have managed to survive, especially with Rinna's edgy pixie-styled hair. It was the JFK tie that really brought the look to a whole other level in the worst way. While the pop of color was welcomed amongst the endless brown, JFK would have probably done better left at home.

The Elevator Boys should have taken the elevator straight back up to whatever fashion floor they came from. The five members of the up-and-coming boyband looked like they were all going to different events. Unfortunately, how to dress cohesively as a collective instead of individuals in a crew is a fashion issue that haunts music groups to this day. The girl group Fifth Harmony was notorious for serving confusing red-carpet looks, and it seems that the Elevator Boys are following suit. With two in trench coats fit for some sort of Matrix spin off, two in boring black, and one in a fluffy white military jacket, where are these boys going?

Ejae of "KPop Demon Hunters" fame was a sight in chartreuse on the red carpet. The "Golden" singer stood out in a Mugler gown, complete with bright blue gloves. The gown's thick shoulder pads and extremely long gloves looked almost villainous in nature. The top of the dress draped like curtains, creating a loose-fitting mock turtleneck that fell into an equally loose-fitting gown. The colors weren't a complete problem and complemented each other quite well, but the fit of the dress didn't do Ejae any favors. The colors also washed her out, making this demon hunter look far too green to truly be "Golden."

Jessi Draper of "The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives" made her relationship with fellow reality television star Marciano Brunette, who you might remember from "Vanderpump Villa," red-carpet official at the AMAs. Pictured solo here, Draper is wearing a form-fitting black dress that looks chic until we reach the bottom, which features a messy ruffled white hem. The hem works to create a mermaid-style silhouette, but with colors fit for a church-set piano recital. With where the hem lands right above her shoes, it almost creates an unsavory illusion of making Draper appear far shorter than she actually is. Perhaps she could have done with just a plain black dress and let her red-carpet debut with her new beau speak for itself.

The "Summer House" reality television star Mia Calabrese stepped out in a dress we all know at this point. Many have tried and failed to pull off looks inspired by the iconic Versace dress JLo wore to the Grammys back in 2000. While Calabrese looks great, this callback is more of a testament to the fact that perhaps we should let this dress be laid to rest once and for all. Calabrese opted for a version without sleeves and with more textured pieces around the bodice. The bright green jungle piece has been worn time and time again and has basically become its own celebrity, overshadowing whoever dons it almost every time. Calabrese is no exception.