The Best Celebrity Revenge Dress Moments We Could Never Forget

It's possible Princess Diana didn't quite invent the concept of the revenge dress — women have been glowing up to get even since the first frocks were stitched into existence, probably — but she perfected it. She popularized it. She committed it to fashion history. When it comes to getting even through fashion, Diana is Picasso and an infamous black Christina Stambolian dress is her paintbrush. When she stepped out at London's Serpentine Gallery on a June evening in 1994, looking dazzling and more than just a little sexy, the whole world seemed to forget that same evening Prince Charles appeared on national television to confess his infidelity.

A good revenge dress makes headlines. It steals thunder. It makes such a bold statement that any wrongdoing ex-lover is eclipsed and forgotten with yesterday's news. It's a post-breakup rebrand designed to outshine scandal and leave any guilty parties brooding over what they just lost. Its brilliance lies in its remarkable blend of pettiness and plausible deniability—after all, who could help but cheer for a Diana who appears to be living her best life yet?

But while Diana might have defined the revenge dress, celebrities continue to iterate. There are numerous scandalously vengeful threads we're still thinking about to this day. 

At the 2018 Billboard Women in Music event, Ariana Grande walked the red carpet in tall boots and a mini dress that featured a high volume, cloud-like skirt. The singer had just ended her relationship with SNL alum Pete Davidson. The pair had moved quickly — dating, getting engaged, and breaking up all within six months. Grande marked the split with the release of the pointed single, "thank u, next," which publicly confirmed her separation from Davidson and celebrated her newfound liberation.

The lavender dress and thigh high boot ensemble by Christian Siriano signaled that Grande was thriving, even after her breakup. The dress, which was tied to the pastel aesthetics of the "thank u, next" music video, symbolized strength as Grande reclaimed the spotlight even while her personal life was under heavy scrutiny. Grande has long been a master of channeling her feelings of grief and loss into her music, and the lyrics of "thank you, next" conveyed the difficulty of splitting from someone you once imagined spending you life with. Through fashion and song, Grande made it clear she was moving forward, embracing her power, and rising above the drama.

Bella Hadid appeared to be rebounding elegantly from a breakup when she stepped out at the Christian Dior's Haute Couture 2017 Bal Masque in a jaw-dropping see-through blue gown. The diamond-encrusted dress had the supermodel looking sultry and powerful.

Hadid had only recently split from Abel Tesfaye— better known by his stage persona The Weeknd — after more than a year of dating. Though the broken-up pair had shared a flirty moment when they both appeared at the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show in November 2016, Tesfaye had been linked to pop star Selena Gomez in January 2017. Days later, Hadid seemed happy to let her ex know what he was missing. The model has been known to don some risque looks. Still, even by her standards, the delicate and sheer gown left little to the imagination. Hadid would later continue this theme with another sheer dress on the red carpet for aDior Exhibition in July of that year.

Need proof that Hadid's revenge dressing game is great? She and Tesfaye didn't stay broken up. By 2018, the couple was back together. While that love affair may not have lasted, Hadid flexed the power of the revenge dress to great effect.

The minimalist queen looked above any scandal when she stepped onto the 2003 Screen Actors Guild Awards red carpet in a body-skimming black dress from Giorgio Armani. The look, with its perfect blending of sexy and elegant, struck just the right now. After all, Aniston had been tabloid fodder for months following her split from husband Brad Pitt, who started dating his "Mr. and Mrs. Smith" co-star Angelina Jolie shortly after.

So what's America's Sweetheart to do when her man ditches her for one of the most beautiful women in the world? Step out in a stunning black dress that gives class — with a cutout designed to reveal an alluring glimpse of sideboob. Aniston looked like a class act: too demure for the gossipy scandal she had been dragged into. But the look wasn't modest either. Instead, the design was both effortless and perfectly calculated to remind Pitt what he lost.

The black two-piece gown that Mariah Carey wore to the 1997 MTV Video Music Awards likely left her ex-husband, Tommy Mottola, reeling. With that appearance, Carey ditched what had been a wholesome image, opting to showcase killer abs and legs and introducing a newly confident side of the singer. The dress was a symbol of new freedom and confidence after she split from the music mogul — signaling an emancipated Carey who was free from of an older, controlling partner. Mottola was particularly restrictive of Carey's public image and style, and Carey has stated that she felt "prisoner" during her marriage. "There was no freedom for me as a human being," she told People.

Mottola "discovered" the young singer and helped to launch her career, but their professional relationship quickly became personal, too. The pair married in 1993, when Carey was 23 and Mottola was 43. Mottola shaped Carey's career, influencing how she dress and approached her music. When the divorce was finalized, Carey stepped out in a "revenge" dress that shed the enforced conservative image and left no questions about her new empowerment. Her new stylistic direction at the 1997 VMAs can be read as her reclaiming control over her art, career, and personal life.

Taylor Swift—we can't help but stan a petty queen—is a master of revenge dressing. Her split from long-time paramour Joe Alwyn had not yet been announced in September 2023 when she attended the MTV Video Music Awards in a glittering mini dress from Oscar De La Renta. Still, the singer was bringing the song "Bejeweled" to life — reminding Alwyn and the entire world of her massive star power. Swift had been transformed by her six-year relationship with Alwyn, and the singer has hinted through song that she felt restricted by the actor's private nature. 

The dress made Swift look like she was draped in diamonds with nothing underneath and perfectly reinforced the aesthetics of her then-era for the "Midnights" album. After several years of keeping a low public profile, she was back, diamonds blazing, to celebrate a forthcoming album and a massive world tour. Swift's lyrics and new public persona suggested that after years of being hemmed in by Alwyn, she was back and ready to enjoy the glory of her tremendous success. Though it would be months before they announced their split in April 2023, the diamond dress looked like an early clue that the "Anti-Hero" hitmaker was moving past Alwyn and celebrating herself.