American rapper and singer Doja Cat, whose real name is Amala Ratna Zandile Dlamini, had a big night at the MTV Video Music Awards on Sunday, September 7.
Doja Cat Makes a Statement
When Doja Cat stepped onto the red carpet at the UBS Arena in Long Island, New York, for the prestigious award show, she did it in style! She channeled the ‘80s for her look and wore a combination of Balmain and Chopard. Her harlequin mini dress is Balmain Pre-Fall 2024, Red Carpet Fashion Awards reports. She paired her dress with yellow platform open-toe heels and bold Chopard jewels.
To complete the look, the musician held a lipstick clutch designed by Judith Leiber.
Also on the night, Doja Cat wowed the audience when she performed her new single “Jealous Type” alongside Kenny G. It is the first time the song has been televised, and her outfit was vastly different from her red carpet style. This time, Doja Cat wore a cropped white top and baggy black pants.
Her hair was short and straight, whereas on the red carpet she had opted for long curls. And she wore red leather fingerless gloves with matching red nail polish.
The performance gave fans a glimpse into what is to come because her latest album, “Vie,” will be released on September 26. The release comes two years after her 2023 album, “Scarlett.”
Doja Cat Discusses New Album
But why the ‘80s vibes? The musician’s throwback style is, in part, for the promotion of her new album. Speaking of her music, she told V magazine on July 1, 2025, “Where I am creatively right now is based in where I was. I want to kind of swim back upstream, so to speak, and go back where I was, and just re-trim and evolve everything.”
She also discussed her inspirations, saying, “I have so many things that float around in my brain when it comes to the ‘80s. And I also am a ‘95 baby, so I have no experience of the ‘80s or any relation to it in that sense.”
She continued, “If you look at some of the imagery for dreamcore and liminal space, you see a lot of these office buildings and things that are quite old… And that’s because, when I was a kid, it was in these old buildings where our parents would be working, and they’d take us to work with them, and we’d sit in the ‘fun’ area, where there’s games and toys and things like that, but it still felt quite sad. The fluorescent lights just hurt.”
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