Cabello released C,XOXO—one of the best pop releases of the year—back in June. Featuring tracks like “I Luv It,” “He Knows,” and “Chanel No.5,” it represented a brand-new musical era for Cabello—with the bops to match. “C,XOXO felt like the album that I needed to write at the time, and the world that I needed to create to live in,” she says. “It has this boldness and risk-taking quality to it that is really important to me right now. It has teeth—which is not innate to me, because I can be more sensitive and sweet. In this world and in this industry, you kind of need to build that armor.”
The star’s fashions both at and heading into the VMAs leaned into this edgier, more raw Camila. The day before the awards ceremony, Cabello wore a fitted Versace dress (from 2012!) embroidered with crosses. “I wore it to protect me from bad energy,” she says. Then, for the VMAs after-party, Cabello selected a demure black Mugler dress with a fight-fitting bodice.
Her style direction may be more glamorously gritty than usual, but Cabello insists her night at the VMAs was 100-percent fun. “It’s always fun to be backstage, and to run into old and new friends,” she says. “There were so many sweet people that I ran into, like GloRilla. She is one of the sweetest artists that I’ve ever met; I’m such a fan of her music—it was so fun to dance with her.”
Below, see more exclusive photos from inside Cabello’s VMAs night.