On the VMAs Stage, Missy Elliott Proved She's Still the Queen
The Video Music Awards were filled with exciting moments, but no one brought the house down quite like Missy Elliott. The recipient of this year’s Video Vanguard award celebrated the honor by revisiting two decades of groundbreaking visuals. Her spirited medley of hits like “The Rain,” “Pass That Dutch,” and “Get Ur Freak On” showcased her skills as a performer and the legacy of arresting imagery she and her collaborators have created. Few could pull off LED -laced jumpsuits, or double-dutch braids but Elliott did so with swagger and aplomb. If last week’s drop of her “Iconography” EP and the opening of the Museum of Missy popup in SoHo were the lead-up, tonight's set provided the cherry on top.
The special effects and cameos from collaborators like dancer Alyson Stoner and were memorable, and the singer's dazzling statement fashion took her performance to another level. Created by Elliott’s longtime stylist and costume designer, June Ambrose, tonight’s multiple outfit changes have been in the works for nearly a month. “From the moment MTV announced we’ve been plotting,” Ambrose said backstage at the Prudential Center in Newark. “It’s a high-impact, high energy show, it’s fast and has a lot of bodies on the stage. Missy wanted it to feel rich and full of life.”
Ambrose has been with Elliott since the days of Supa Dupa Fly and has had a hand in many of her most inventive looks. The billowing inflatable trash bag “dress” from “The Rain” video, the ice blue tracksuits of “Work It” and “Throw It Back”’s wealth of pastel tailoring are all a result of Ambrose and Elliott's years of collaboration. "The music is the DNA for me as a costume designer," Ambrose says. "I'm here to develop the character, articulate it, and evolve it."
Given the night’s retrospective theme, both felt that revisiting some of those much-loved looks was appropriate. “Missy didn’t want there to be too much of a departure [from the original videos] especially with the graphics,” says Ambrose, who strove to make the costumes merge seamlessly with the special effects. “She wanted to immerse the audience in the nostalgia and stay true to where we were initially as a reminder.”
The virtual reality–inspired experience, complete with a hologram of Elliott floating over the crowd and mirrored sets, called for amped-up versions of familiar favorites and a glitz take on the MTV “Moon Man.” “It’s like one of the moments from the 'Throw It Back' video, but I went for a different approach,” says Ambrose. “She’s landed on earth, so she’s in more of a hip-hop version of a spacesuit with an oversize parka and this beautiful crystal fabric and off-white sneakers so it’s low-key—or low-key for Missy.”
Ambrose dug into the archives but also modernized each look. “The Rain’s” sci-fi aliens received an update via backup dancers in glossy slickers and umbrella hats, while “Get Ur Freak On’s” miners were costumed in hand-weathered uniforms and spiked helmets for what Ambrose calls a “steampunk meets hip-hop vibe.” Even the scarecrows of “Pass That Dutch” received a sparkling treatment that popped against the darkened stage. “They’re a little bit blinged-out this time, a little flashy,” Ambrose says. “It was all about the drip, and for 'Lose Control” we took things further with custom-designed leather hoodies. In the video they were wearing blue hoodies and Dickies, but [now] everything is a little more luxurious.”
Since many of Elliott’s videos have become reference points for Gen-Z’s musicians, the imagery holds a special place in pop culture. While Ambrose is conscious of the esteem in which Elliott’s oeuvre is held, she wasn’t worried about trying to outdo her now iconic designs. “I’m very particular about references; sometimes you can use a reference so much that it starts to hinder you creatively,” she says. “You almost have to take the influence, walk away from it, and then reimagine it with your soul instead of the soul of the reference.”
Changes in technology impacted the looks too. “When I was working with LED lights 20 years ago, they were huge stick strips and nearly impossible to sew in,” says Ambrose who inlaid the spacesuit with flickering lights. “Now they’ve become so fine and can be used in so many different ways.” Those little details enhanced the immersive nature of the set. “It’s produced like a Vegas or Broadway performance,” Ambrose continues. “I wanted things with texture, to make you feel like you’re part of that music video experience.”
Tonight's looks—and those hanging at the Museum of Missy in SoHo—cement Elliott's icon status at the forefront of Afrofuturism, body positivity, and electronic production. “Seeing the work be celebrated this way is a dream come true," Ambrose says. “The reason why I have to didn’t stray too far from the originals is because when we were making those videos 20 years ago, we already were in 2020. The work was ahead of its time, and when you look at it now it’s going to feel just as forward and rich as it did then.”
Originally Appeared on Vogue
