If you’re looking for sheer shock and awe value, you can’t do better than the MTV Video Music Awards. From Kanye West interrupting his now on-again enemy Taylor Swift’s acceptance speech to a Rage Against the Machine member scaling the set after losing a Moonman to Michael Jackson mistaking a birthday cake for an “Artist of the Millennium” award, the show is ripe with jaw-dropping moments. And we haven’t even gotten to the fashion yet. Over the years, the VMAs has turned into a platform for showing as much skin as possible in truly eye-catching ensembles that take modesty to task. We’re talking a see-through bodysuit, a denim skirt so short it was a few inches away from being nonexistent and a dazzling pastie that no one who watched the 1999 broadcast can erase from their subconscious — just to name a handful of examples. In anticipation of this year’s ceremony just a few weeks away, we thought we’d take a look back at all the VMAs looks (both up on stage and off) that had us collectively shaking our heads.
"Great cover, quite impactful."