Taylor Swift’s 2022 VMAs Louboutin Sandals: Price, Style & Red Carpet Evolution

Taylor Swift arrived at the 2022 MTV Video Music Awards at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey, on August 28, 2022, in one of the night’s most memorable shoe-and-dress pairings: a crystal-covered Oscar de la Renta halter mini dress with metallic silver Christian Louboutin sandals.

Taylor Swift flaunts her legs in a crystal Oscar de la Renta mini dress and silver heels at the 2022 MTV VMAs at Prudential Center on August 28, 2022, in Newark, New Jersey (Credit: Doug Peters / PA Images / INSTARimag / Cover Images)

Nominated for her 2021 romantic drama All Too Well: The Short Film, the 5’9¼” singer, who wears a US size 9 shoe, chose a backless Oscar de la Renta Resort 2023 halter dress covered in draped, braided crystal strands that cascaded over her arms and lower back.

She finished the look with metallic silver Christian Louboutin “Bombina Pampilla” sandals and Lorraine Schwartz diamond jewelry. The crystal-covered shoes worked particularly well with the dress because their dangling embellishments continued its movement and sparkle all the way to the floor.

Taylor Swift pairs her crystal-draped Oscar de la Renta mini dress with Lorraine Schwartz jewelry and metallic Christian Louboutin sandals (Credit: Doug Peters / PA Images / INSTARimag / Cover Images)

Christian Louboutin’s Crystal Bombina Pampilla Sandals Echo Her Dress

Priced at about $1,095, the Christian Louboutin “Bombina Pampilla” sandals featured a slim 100 mm heel, metallic silver finish, delicate straps, and chandelier-inspired crystal drops. Instead of competing with the heavily embellished Oscar de la Renta dress, the narrow silhouette and suspended crystals visually extended its jeweled effect.

Christian Louboutin’s Bombina Pampilla sandals feature slim stiletto heels and dangling chandelier-like crystal embellishments

The design came from Christian Louboutin’s Viva Las Vegas capsule collection and drew inspiration from the Chandelier Bar at The Cosmopolitan in Las Vegas.

Swift had already demonstrated a taste for more architectural Louboutin sandals years earlier. At the 2013 40 Principales Awards in Madrid, she paired a sparkling Kaufmanfranco mini dress with Christian Louboutin’s Dufoura PVC platform sandals, whose transparent ankle wraps and sculptural platforms offered a much bolder take on the designer’s red-soled evening footwear.

The Bombina Pampilla’s hanging crystal embellishments reference the chandelier that inspired the Christian Louboutin design

Taylor Swift Changes Into Alexander McQueen Platforms for the VMAs Afterparty

Swift changed both her outfit and her footwear after the awards. She swapped the Oscar de la Renta mini for a blue silky Moschino romper decorated with silver stars, layered with a faux-fur jacket, and replaced her delicate Louboutin stilettos with silver-glitter Alexander McQueen platform sandals.

The switch kept the metallic footwear theme intact while completely changing the proportions: the slender 100 mm Bombina Pampillas suited the hanging crystals of her red-carpet dress, while the chunkier platforms worked with the more playful afterparty look.

Taylor Swift shows the slender 100 mm heels and crystal embellishments of her metallic silver Christian Louboutin Bombina Pampilla sandals at the 2022 MTV Video Music Awards (Credit: Doug Peters / PA Images / INSTARimag / Cover Images)

The Oscar de la Renta-and-metallic-sandal combination also had precedent in Swift’s wardrobe. At the 2019 Billboard Women in Music event, she paired a navy Oscar de la Renta jumpsuit with gold Sergio Rossi SR1 sandals, using reflective footwear to pick up the outfit’s gold chain detailing.

From Louboutin at the VMAs to Stuart Weitzman at the 2016 Grammys

The VMAs were not the first time Swift used barely-there metallic sandals to balance a statement-making outfit. Six years earlier, at the 58th Annual Grammy Awards at the Staples Center in Los Angeles on February 15, 2016, she paired vivid Atelier Versace color blocking with slender Stuart Weitzman heels.

Taylor Swift pairs her coral-and-pink Atelier Versace ensemble with metallic Stuart Weitzman sandals, Lorraine Schwartz jewelry, and Ofira pavé bands at the 2016 Grammy Awards (Credit: Adriana M. Barraza / WENN / Apega / Nikki Nelson)

Swift won Album of the Year for 1989 that night, becoming the first woman to win the category twice.

During her acceptance speech, the Fearless singer spoke about people attempting to undercut another person’s success or take credit for their accomplishments. The remarks were widely interpreted at the time in the context of her public dispute with Kanye West.

Taylor Swift contrasts a coral-orange bandeau top with a fuchsia-pink high-slit skirt in her custom Atelier Versace look

Stuart Weitzman Sultry Sandals Keep the Focus on Versace’s Color Blocking

For the Grammys red carpet, Swift wore a custom Atelier Versace two-piece ensemble: a coral-orange bandeau top and a fuchsia-pink, high-slit ballgown skirt that revealed matching high-waisted shorts underneath. She added a blunt chin-length bob with full fringe, a gold-and-diamond Lorraine Schwartz choker, and Ofira pavé bands.

Rather than introducing another strong color at her feet, Swift chose metallic bronze-gold Stuart Weitzman “Sultry” sandals. The style’s thin asymmetric straps and wraparound ankle ties left much of the foot exposed, allowing the shoes to complement the bold Versace color blocking without distracting from it.

Taylor Swift wears a Lorraine Schwartz choker with her custom Atelier Versace ensemble at the 58th Grammy Awards at Staples Center on February 15, 2016, in Los Angeles, California (Credit: Adriana M. Barraza / WENN / Apega / Nikki Nelson)

The Sultry was not a one-night choice for Swift. At the 50th annual CMA Awards in Nashville later that year, she returned to Stuart Weitzman’s Sultry sandals with a black Julien Macdonald cutout gown. Her CMA pair appeared to be a customized version of the design with noticeable platforms, adding significantly more height than the single-sole Grammys pair.

Why Taylor Swift’s Versace Look Drew Comparisons to Leslie Mann

The orange-and-pink combination also recalled another celebrity red-carpet look from two years earlier. At the Los Angeles premiere of The Other Woman on April 21, 2014, Leslie Mann wore a Monique Lhuillier ensemble built around essentially the reverse color arrangement.

Leslie Mann pairs a pink Monique Lhuillier bandeau and orange skirt with Oscar Tiye heels at the Los Angeles premiere of The Other Woman (Credit: Adriana M. Barraza / WENN / Apega / Nikki Nelson)

Mann wore pink on top and orange below, while Swift wore coral-orange above and fuchsia pink below. Their shoes further separated the two looks: Mann chose Oscar Tiye heels, while Swift kept her footwear more minimal with Stuart Weitzman’s barely-there Sultry sandals.

Leslie Mann wears Dana Rebecca Designs earrings with her Monique Lhuillier color-blocked look at the Regency Village Theatre in Westwood on April 21, 2014 (Credit: Adriana M. Barraza / WENN / Apega / Nikki Nelson)

Taylor Swift’s Signature Shoes: From Crystal Sandals to Statement Boots

The metallic sandals Swift wore at the 2022 VMAs and 2016 Grammys represent only one side of her footwear wardrobe. Across red carpets, performances, and street style, she repeatedly moves between delicate, crystal-covered heels; dramatic knee-high and thigh-high boots; towering platforms; and more relaxed sneakers and flat boots. The silhouettes change with the setting, but her shoes are rarely incidental to the outfit.