Sofia Vergara & Mel B Clash in Statement Heels at the AGT Season 21 Finale: René Caovilla Crystals vs. Vivienne Westwood Platforms

Sofia Vergara and Mel B brought their signature styles to the America’s Got Talent Season 21 Finale Performances at Hotel Dena Pasadena on September 22, 2026, in Pasadena, California, each taking a different approach to statement footwear.

Vergara leaned into coordinated black sparkle, wearing a crystal-covered Milla corset gown with towering René Caovilla platform mules. Mel B went bolder, pairing an intricately embellished For the Stars Fashion House dress with chunky black Vivienne Westwood platform boots.

Sofia Vergara contrasts a sparkling black Milla corset gown and René Caovilla platform mules with Mel B’s intricately embellished For the Stars dress and towering Vivienne Westwood boots at the America’s Got Talent Season 21 Finale Performances at Hotel Dena Pasadena on September 22, 2026, in Pasadena, California (Credit: Faye’s Vision / Cover Images)

The finale also marked the end of another season of competition, with singer and guitarist Nene Royal taking home the grand prize, magician Geno Ploeger finishing in second place, and magician group Hundred Fingers placing third.

With the competition wrapped up, let’s take a closer look at the shoes and dresses Vergara and Mel B chose for the finale.

Sofia Vergara Sparkles in René Caovilla Dania Platform Mules and a Milla Corset Gown

Sofia Vergara went head-to-toe black for the America’s Got Talent Season 21 finale, coordinating sparkling René Caovilla platform mules with a crystal-embellished Milla gown.

At 5’7″ (170.2 cm) with a US shoe size 8.5, Vergara is already slightly taller than the average American woman, but towering heels have long been one of her footwear signatures. Her $2,100 René Caovilla “Dania” mules added considerably more height with their thick platforms and 5.1-inch stiletto heels.

Made in Italy from black satin, the open-toe mules feature slender crisscross straps covered in hand-applied crystals. Rhinestones continue across the substantial platforms and heels, while René Caovilla’s signature glittering Stardust soles add another decorative detail underneath.

As of September 2026, René Caovilla still lists the Dania Black Platform Mule 130 for $2,100, alongside other versions of the crystal-covered Dania silhouette.

A close-up reveals the crystal detailing on Sofia Vergara’s black René Caovilla Dania mules, from the slender crisscross straps to the substantial platforms and 5.1-inch stiletto heels (Credit: Faye’s Vision / Cover Images)

The Dania was already part of Vergara’s Season 21 shoe rotation. Just one week earlier, at the September 15 semifinals, she wore the champagne version of René Caovilla’s Dania Platform Mule 130 with a crystal-covered Roland Mouret dress. For the finale, she switched to the black version of the same $2,100 platform mule, preserving the shoe’s head-to-toe crystal sparkle while creating a more tonal effect with her black Milla gown.

Vergara paired the crystal-covered mules with a $660 black Milla gown that carried the shimmer upward. The fitted dress featured a sheer corset bodice with visible boning, structured embellished cups, delicate shoulder straps, and a skirt covered in black sequins and crystals.

The mermaid silhouette followed her waist and hips before widening toward the hem, where a layer of delicate tulle softened the otherwise structured, heavily embellished design.

Sofia Vergara coordinates her crystal-covered René Caovilla Dania platform mules with a black Milla gown featuring a sheer corset bodice, sequins, and a fitted mermaid silhouette at the America’s Got Talent Season 21 Finale Performances on September 22, 2026 (Credit: Faye’s Vision / Cover Images)

The combination also continued a familiar footwear pattern for Vergara, whose America’s Got Talent wardrobe has repeatedly featured towering platforms, wedges, and high heels. For the finale, however, matching the crystals on the Dania mules to the embellishment on her dress made the shoes feel like an extension of the gown rather than a contrasting accessory.

She finished the look with a statement cuff bracelet and diamond rings. Her brunette hair fell in voluminous waves, while bronzed makeup and a neutral lip kept the beauty look understated against all the black sparkle.

Mel B Towers in Vivienne Westwood Pleasure Platform Boots and a For the Stars Gown

Mel B took the more maximalist route, wearing black Vivienne Westwood “Pleasure” ankle boots beneath an ornate floor-length dress from For the Stars Fashion House.

The boots were particularly striking on Mel B’s 5’4½” (163.8 cm) frame. The Spice Girls singer, who wears a US shoe size 8.5, has a long history of choosing footwear that adds substantial height, and these Vivienne Westwood platforms continued that pattern.

Made from black calf leather, the Pleasure ankle boots feature lace-up fronts, adjustable buckle straps around the ankles, metal eyelets, and pull tabs at the back. Thick leather-covered platforms extend beneath the rounded toes, while towering 5.9-inch block heels exaggerate the boots’ proportions.

Mel B’s black leather Vivienne Westwood Pleasure ankle boots combine lace-up fronts and buckle straps with imposing platforms and 5.9-inch block heels (Credit: Faye’s Vision / Cover Images)

They weren’t Mel B’s first dramatic platform boots of the season. At the America’s Got Talent Season 21 media day in March, she wore chunky black croc-embossed ankle boots with thick platforms and towering block heels, establishing the exaggerated boot silhouette as a recurring element of her Season 21 wardrobe.

The Vivienne Westwood pair also connects directly to the footwear history behind Mel B’s Scary Spice image. As our guide to platform heels shows, platforms returned prominently in the 1990s, appearing in Vivienne Westwood’s designs and becoming closely associated with the Spice Girls. Wearing Westwood platforms therefore gives Mel B’s finale look an especially fitting fashion connection.

She paired the boots with an equally elaborate dress from For the Stars Fashion House, a Los Angeles couture design house known for handmade celebrity red-carpet pieces.

The form-fitting gown had a sheer mesh base covered in an intricate symmetrical pattern of orange, red, white, gold, and black. Extensive beadwork added texture and shimmer throughout, while the mock neckline and long sleeves balanced the dress’s sheer sections.

A high slit interrupted the floor-length silhouette and, importantly, kept the substantial Vivienne Westwood boots visible rather than letting them disappear beneath the hem.

Mel B pairs towering Vivienne Westwood Pleasure platform boots with a floor-length For the Stars Fashion House gown covered in ornate red, orange, gold, white, and black embellishment at the America’s Got Talent Season 21 Finale Performances in Pasadena (Credit: Faye’s Vision / Cover Images)

Long dangling earrings, rings, a watch, and a hand chain added still more detail. Mel B wore her hair in an updo with a sculpted finger-wave detail at the front, finishing the look with neutral makeup.

Sofia Vergara vs. Mel B: Two Takes on Statement Platform Heels

Vergara and Mel B arrived at the same footwear idea from opposite directions. Vergara’s René Caovilla Dania mules used slim crystal-covered straps, substantial platforms, and stiletto heels to extend the sparkle of her fitted Milla gown, while Mel B’s Vivienne Westwood Pleasure boots relied on black leather, thick platforms, lacing, and block heels to ground her intricately embellished For the Stars dress.

Those contrasting approaches extend well beyond the AGT finale. Vergara has worn everything from crystal-covered evening platforms and towering wedges to elevated sneakers, while Mel B’s shoe wardrobe spans barely-there stilettos, pointed pumps, and dramatic boots. These earlier looks show how both women have returned to statement footwear in very different ways over the years.