This weekend, the 66th annual Grammy Awards will happen in Los Angeles, California, and music’s prime acts—Billie Eilish, Dua Lipa, SZA, Olivia Rodrigo, and extra—are all set to carry out. In fact, we’re very a lot trying ahead to the star-studded purple carpet. The Grammys have a historical past of delivering memorable fashion moments, à la Dua Lipa remodeling into Donatella Versace circa 2022 and Cardi B rising from a couture Mugler clam shell again in 2019.

Trying again on Grammys carpets over the a long time, nevertheless, we will’t assist however really feel nostalgic for the times when the style was really wild. We imply the less complicated instances, particularly the ‘90s and early aughts, when some celebrities didn’t even have stylists. There was a lot spontaneity and risk-taking, with celebrities conjuring up out-of-the-box inspiration and working with it—irrespective of how outlandish. Massive-budget model offers and sponsorships had been primarily nonexistent; If a star noticed one thing they favored, they simply wore it and hope for the very best.

Take Jennifer Lopez and her viral plunging Versace robe in 2000—a gown so good that it actually gave start to Google Photographs. It’s a second in trend historical past that’s nonetheless talked about at this time, although Lopez wasn’t the primary particular person to put on the design. In her Vogue video revisiting the look’s origin story, Lopez remembers that “Donatella had worn [the dress], one of many Spice Ladies [Geri Halliwell] had worn it, and Sandra Bullock had worn it in one other colour.” But Lopez nonetheless felt the look was it; she was positive she might make it her personal, and he or she did. Right now’s crop of It ladies would by no means step on the purple carpet in an outfit already worn by a fellow performer; they’d sooner skip the Grammys altogether.

One other factor that made the Grammys of yesteryear so enjoyable to look at? A complete disregard for developments. In 1996, for instance, Mary J. Blige sported a head-to-toe leopard ensemble by Dolce & Gabbana. “I used to be attempting to do one thing new and totally different,” Blige instructed Vogue of the daring look. In 2002, Lil Kim donned a purple leather-based (and bejeweled) Chanel moto swimsuit—full with a Chanel biker helmet to match. These had been hardly ploys to land on Greatest Dressed lists; Stars had been simply having enjoyable.

None of that is to say that the current Grammys haven’t been a thrill to look at. Woman Gaga confirmed up in a Hussein Chalayan vessel in 2011, and I’m nonetheless obsessive about Harry Kinds’s pink Gucci boa from 2021. However as a complete, current Grammys trend has been far more contrived, and fewer about disrupting the norm. Contemplate this our plea to deliver again some Grammys trend chaos this weekend. Doja Cat, Lana Del Rey, Billie Eilish—we’re you.

Beneath, much more of the very best Grammys seems to be over the 12 months.