Sabrina Carpenter has become a world-famous name. She dominated the charts with her back-to-back hit albums, Short ‘N Sweet and Man’s Best Friend, and became topical all over the internet with her iconic performance looks.
In today’s pop culture landscape, artists must stand out amongst the crowd. Visuals and fashion choices are just as important as the music itself.
Carpenter has created a universe that showcases her music and aesthetic. From the stage design at her live shows to her connected music video themes, she has perfectly curated her artistic identity.
She has also been known to use fashion as a storytelling device. Carpenter often chooses pieces and looks to reference popular films or characters. Rather than maintaining the current styles and trends, she creates glamorous looks through this referential tactic of dressing.
Short ‘N Sweet
After the release of her 2024 single, Espresso, Carpenter skyrocketed in popularity. Though she had been active in the industry for years prior, this song specifically turned heads and she gained significant traction. Towards the release of her album, Short ‘N Sweet, she was a huge name in the industry.
Before Short ‘N Sweet, Carpenter was infamous for making every show on her Emails I Can’t Send Tour special. She showcased different ways to incorporate hearts, a detail of the album cover, into her fashion.
From corsets to a cut-out on her boots, she made every appearance align with the key elements of her work.
Taking it a step further, she created a specific outro of her song Nonsense to resonate with the crowd or the location of the show. Her first performance of this was on September 29, 2022, in Atlanta, Georgia.
The outro featured the lyrics: “Come over tonight, my room is spotless. I’m sorry this outro is so chaotic. Atlanta, it’s official, you’re the hottest.”
This sparked excitement in her fans to see what she would do next. It also showcased more of her creativity and wit as an artist.
Seeing how popular the outros became, it was a no-brainer to come up with something to make each tour date special. It was clear what that would be on the opening night of the Short ‘N Sweet tour.
Carpenter opened the two-year-long tour by pretending as if she were in a rush, only wearing a sparkly towel. As the intro to her opening track, Taste, played behind her, she opened the towel to reveal a bedazzled bodysuit paired with small white heels and glistening tights.
As stated in the song, the outfit made “quite an impression.” Fans began to guess what color or style the bodysuit would be as the shows progressed. This kept people tuning into the tour dates regardless of if they were attending or not.
More so, it continued to bring her individuality to life. The rest of the show maintained this energy and style. The fashion changes stayed consistent with the bodysuit of the night. The rest of the looks also aligned with the aesthetic of the album itself.
Short ‘N Sweet as an album is flirty and fun. The looks perfectly bring that to life with flowy nightgown-style babydoll dresses, a glittery black jumpsuit, and a sparkly two-piece set to close the show.
Styling the song
Music videos have been widely popular in the music industry for decades. It allows the artist to bring their artistic vision to life. For fans, it allows them to see the work in a new, elevated light.
Carpenter has created a universe in which her music exists. The music videos are not just a one-and-done project for her. Instead, they all tie into each other in small ways.
The hit song, Espresso, was brought to life in a bright, colorful way. Similar to the song itself, the scenery and looks were upbeat and lively. Carpenter wore a black bathing suit that became popular all over social media. She also stunned in a glittery set and a blue dress that she concluded the music video in.
The following music video for the song Please Please Please took on a new, darker vibe. Instead of maintaining the bright looks, she was seen in darker makeup and bolder outfit choices. The prior music video was tied in through a small detail in the beginning.
At the end of Espresso, Carpenter is seen being taken away in a police car. As the following video opened, she was seen being released from prison. Upon leaving, she is given back her belongings, which were all originally worn in Espresso.
She continued to work in pieces of prior imagery into the music videos that followed. This allowed small accessories and pieces to become a story. It further upholds her artistic identity and showcases her creativity and dedication to her craft.
Revamped chic
While her music videos have become a world of their own, they also take a little bit from other universes. Carpenter incorporated references from popular films to elevate her own art.
Her 2024 music video, Taste, is the most well-known for this. The song tells the story of two women who are competing for the same man. To bring this to life, she referenced the 1992 film Death Becomes Her, which showcases similar tension.
Alongside Jenna Ortega, Carpenter wore pieces inspired by the film. One of the most iconic scenes in the film was when Madeline, played by Meryl Streep, shoots Helen, played by Goldie Hawn, leaving a gaping hole in her torso.
Carpenter and Ortega recreated this scene, leaving Carpenter in the hospital with the same hole in her torso. They circled back to the film at the end of the music video. Both women are seen at the funeral of the man they were competing for in long, black dresses.
These sleek, glamorous dresses perfectly mirrored the ones worn by the actresses in the film. These references allowed the music video to work off of the film’s themes to emphasize the message Carpenter was going for.
Rocky Horror Sabrina Show
One of Carpenter’s most topical music videos was for her song “Tears” from the album Man’s Best Friend in 2025. The music video utilized colorful, somewhat spooky imagery to bring to life the aesthetic of the cult classic 1975 film, The Rocky Horror Picture Show.
In the video, Carpenter stars as Janet Weiss. Similar to the character, after getting into an accident, she wanders into what appears to be an abandoned house. On the theme of the film, Carpenter opens the music video in a modest, demure dress.
The look is very vintage. She pairs a simple blue dress with a white hat. This demonstrated a common type of look for women at the time. They were mostly seen in polished, simple attire.
As she enters the house, we see Coleman Domingo filling the role of Dr.Frank-N-Furter. His character was extremely eccentric, taking Carpenter from her modest clothing to lingerie.
While the music video’s plot follows the film’s storyline, she brings her own spark to it by adding flashy dance numbers. Her dance break portion of the song featured choreography that became popular on TikTok immediately, as well as finding a new life in her live performances.
Her performance of the song at the 2025 VMA’s further brought this reference to life. She maintained the vibe of the film by featuring drag queens on the stage. The film was originally iconic for the eccentric wardrobe of Tim Curry. At the time, there was very little representation for this community, so the film gained a following by straying from the industry’s norms.
By showcasing drag queens, Carpenter is fulfilling what made the film so special. The fashion and the boldness of the art spoke to the audience and allowed it to become a cult classic.
Further, many fans were reminded of a past performance of Britney Spears. Carpenter wore dark pants and a sparkling bra as she ended the number with rain falling on the stage. This made fans nostalgic for one of Spears’ iconic looks and performances.
Sab-chella
All of these looks and references lead up to one of her most notable performances of her career, headlining the 2026 Coachella festival. Her clever references and visual style could not have been more prominent.
Leading up to the festival, Carpenter was still touring. She continued to wear the classic looks of the show, starting with the bodysuit and ending with the matching set. However, she elevated the themes from colors alone to more creative pieces.
Her bodysuits became more elaborate. They showcase landmarks, such as the Hollywood sign, and patterns, such as gingham. This sparked the interest of her fans more than ever. It left them unable to guess what she would do next. Instead, they were compelled to wait and see what she delivered.
She entered the stage walking on stars reflecting the Hollywood Walk of Fame. She wore a red, sparkly dress under a coat of the same color. As the show progressed, her looks changed more than ever. Instead of allowing them to correlate, each look was something brand new.
Carpenter was stunned with each look, shifting from glitz and glam to flowy and elegant. It was no surprise that the performance became as popular as it was.
She continued to reference old Hollywood through small touches in her outfit. She even referenced films, such as Dirty Dancing, by dedicating her song Sugar Talking to recreating the iconic dance studio scene.
Fans recognized that some of the imagery of the show was hinted at through past bodysuits. This further proved that Sabrina Carpenter is always a step ahead with her music and her image.
