Rose McGowan’s 1998 VMAs Appearance Started 'Naked' Dress Trend On The Red Carpet

Rose McGowan's infamous 1998 VMAs appearance started the "naked" dress trend on the red carpet, according to a designer.

McGowan's controversial VMAs fashion moment over two decades ago has resurfaced after the annual event wrapped up over the weekend. The designer of the infamous "Chain Dress" opened up about the outfit and shared how McGowan's look at the time inspired the "naked" dress trend in which celebrities walk on the red carpet with revealing dresses, leaving almost nothing to the imagination.

"Those kinds of looks were happening on the runway at the time, but I think she was the person who took it from the runway to the red carpet," Maja Hanson, the designer of McGowan's dress, told Page Six.

"I don’t remember anyone doing it before her. Other people have worn similar things since then, but she was the first to really have that ‘wow’ moment."

The "Scream" star handpicked the dress herself when she visited Hanson's NYC studio with her then-boyfriend Marilyn Manson. He was being fitted for his custom fur-trimmed leopard look. McGowan checked the archieved pieces from the collection and saw the "Chain Dress." She tried it on and asked Hanson if she could borrow it.

"Yes, of course!" Hanson told McGowan.

However, Hanson and her business partner at the time, Seana Gordon, had no idea that McGowan was planning to wear the dress at the 1998 VMAs red carpet. For her part, the “Charmed” star said she was making a statement because it was her first public appearance after being sexually assaulted. McGowan alleged that Harvey Weinstein raped her in 1997.

"I just felt like, ‘Oh Hollywood, would you want a body just that you can use and throw away? Then I've got one for you!’ It was like at the end of 'Gladiator' when he comes out and he's like, ‘Are you not entertained?'" McGowan said in a recent interview with Yahoo Entertainment.

"And if you look at me, I did it with power. I didn't do it with my hand on my hip to be sexy. Most of the women that are dressed like that on the red carpet, it's a calculated, sexy move to turn people on. Mine was like, ‘I’m gonna f--k with your brain. I'm going to blow your brain up.’ And nobody had done it.”

McGowan received intense backlash for her outfit. She admitted that she has mixed feelings when looking back at the event but doesn't regret it.