The 2026 Billboard Women in Music Awards took over the Hollywood Palladium on April 29, and let me tell you: this carpet refused to commit to a single trend, and that’s exactly why it ate. No matching memo, no shared color story, just a room full of women treating fashion like a personality test and acing it. Couture corsets, archive Versace, patent leather, sheer everything – and the beauty looks kept pace. Here’s how the night ranked.
1. Cara Delevingne in Saint Laurent
Embed from Getty ImagesWhile every other star reached for skin and sparkle, Cara walked in and quietly stole the whole carpet with a suit. Her Saint Laurent moment – an oversized double-breasted blazer, crisp shirt, a proper tie, and tailored shorts – was the only real tailoring statement of the night. When everyone zigs toward sheer dressing, the most radical thing you can do is button up.
2. Zara Larsson in vintage Versace
Embed from Getty ImagesCoZara pulled a sleeveless piece from Versace’s Spring 2006 collection (sourced via Opulent Addict, for the vintage girlies taking notes), a chartreuse-yellow base swimming in florals – lavender, pink, lilac, green, the whole garden. It’s the color combination no one would dare put on a mood board, which is exactly why it slapped. Styled by Caterina Ospina with Kimono Dragon jewels, she looked like a Mediterranean summer.
3. Teyana Taylor in Ashi Studio
Embed from Getty ImagesThe Visionary Award went to the right woman, and she dressed like she knew it. Teyana sourced one of her go-to houses, Ashi Studio, for a Spring 2026 Couture confection: a sculptural under-bust corset bustier feeding into a high-low tulle skirt, finished with lace-up satin boots because of course she didn’t do a basic heel. The beauty was the plot twist — glued-down marcel waves up top transitioning into long wand curls, a whole architectural situation.
4. Tate McRae in Elie Saab
Embed from Getty ImagesAccepting the Hitmaker Award, Tate kept it sleek and a little sinister. Her Elie Saab Fall 2026 dress read pure black from across the room, but lean in and it’s oxblood patent leather – a strapless corset bodice with a tiny floral appliqué and a pencil-sharp skirt, all of it catching light like wet vinyl. Soft pink lip, loose undone waves, zero fuss everywhere else. She’s been steadily leveling up her fashion and this was a graduation.
5. Laufey in Chloé
Embed from Getty ImagesInnovator Award winner, certified romantic, and the carpet’s resident Victorian heroine. Laufey floated in wearing a white Chloé Fall 2026 gown – sheer and gauzy, stacked with tiered ruffles, a prim high lace collar, and a little black ribbon knotted at the throat like a porcelain doll with a secret. Then she turned around: backless, held together by delicate gold chains. Sweet from the front, scandalous from the back, which is the only acceptable way to do demure in 2026.
6. EJAE in Markgong
Embed from Getty ImagesOne-third of HUNTR/X, freshly crowned Women of the Year, and serving in a purple that demanded the room’s attention. EJAE chose Markgong Fall 2026: a feathery off-the-shoulder cropped bodice meeting a high-waisted satin tulip skirt, the texture contrast doing all the talking. Styled by Theo Song with Ivar jewelry, it was the rare “feathers and structure” combination that didn’t tip into costume.
7. Kehlani in Claire Sullivan
Embed from Getty ImagesImpact Award winner, fresh off dropping her self-titled fifth album days earlier, and the only one playing in the menswear sandbox with this much ease. Kehlani’s Claire Sullivan look leaned tailored and grounded – an off-the-shoulder top with a structured corset waist that gave the whole thing a strong, sculpted line. While the carpet went full glamour-or-bust, she stayed cool, soft, and a little subversive.
8. Keke Palmer in Monse
Embed from Getty ImagesThe host doesn’t just run the show, she sets the tone, and Keke set it the second she stepped out. Her custom Monse (Spring 2026, styled by Molly Dickson) was a disco fever dream with serious Tina Turner energy: a minidress dripping in shimmering crystal tassels, a semi-sheer bodice, exposed boning, and strands of diamonds for good measure. Top it with that red pixie and a pop of pink eyeshadow and you have a woman who understood the assignment.
9. Rei Ami in Iris Van Herpen
Embed from Getty ImagesThe HUNTR/X member who treated the carpet like a couture exhibit. Rei led the trio in an indigo Iris Van Herpen Spring 2019 Couture dress – yes, the optical-illusion archive piece, the kind of sculptural wizardry that looks like it’s moving even when she’s standing still. Pulling vintage Van Herpen to a pop awards show is a high-difficulty dive, and she landed it. Deep blue, dimensional, slightly hypnotic. Demon-slaying vocals, gallery-wall fashion taste.
10. Tyla in Javier Collazo
Embed from Getty ImagesThe carpet’s resident heat-seeker rounded out the ten in custom Javier Collazo, and it was barely-there in the most deliberate way. The feathered piece clung to her frame in earthy browns, creams, and black before spilling into a dramatic, uneven train – equal parts Destiny’s Child Survivor and something untamed and brand new. The beauty sealed it: a hot pink manicure, big bombshell curls, and star-shaped crystals trailing along her curves like a constellation map.
Honorable Mentions
Victoria Justice – A liquid-silver Maria Lucia Hohan gown with a drop waist, pleated detailing, and a corseted bodice, finished with a sleek blowout and a rosy pink cheek-and-lip. Old-Hollywood polish, present-day shine.
Embed from Getty ImagesBINI – The eight-piece Filipina powerhouse accepted the Global Force Award in coordinated, midriff-baring earth tones – proof that a group can match without looking like a uniform. Coordination as a flex.
Embed from Getty ImagesAudrey Nuna – The third of the HUNTR/X trio leaned all the way into the soft side: an oversized baby pink sweater paired with a matching tulle tutu skirt, channeling a pastel, off-duty-ballerina mood while everyone else chased drama. Cozy, sweet, and quietly the most unexpected look of the Women of the Year set.
Embed from Getty Images