At the 61st Academy of Country Music Awards in Las Vegas, Kacey Musgraves offered a masterclass in retro glamour, wearing a black velvet Tanner Fletcher gown trimmed with ivory ruffles. The strapless dress, from the brand's fall 2026 collection, featured a sweetheart neckline and scalloped ruffles that traced the bust before cascading down the bodice - a silhouette that echoes the structured corsetry and delicate lace of mid-20th-century lingerie. Tanner Fletcher, a label known for reviving bygone femininity, here nods to the pinup era's fascination with boudoir dressing, where velvet and ruffles signified intimacy and allure. Musgraves completed the look with a kiss curl, red lip, and pearl drops - precise references to 1950s glamour, when lingerie moved from purely functional to a tool of self-expression. The choice is particularly resonant given lingerie's own history: black velvet, once a staple of mourning attire, was reappropriated by designers like Christian Dior in the 1940s as a luxurious evening fabric, while ruffles have long evoked the playful layers of petticoats and negligees. Musgraves's appearance also follows her recent Depop collaboration, where she sold personal pieces to benefit immigrant children - a reminder that fashion, like lingerie, can be both deeply personal and socially meaningful. The ACM Awards, hosted by Shania Twain, saw performances from Miranda Lambert and Lainey Wilson, but it was Musgraves's vintage-inflected elegance that lingered, a quiet tribute to the enduring power of lingerie-inspired design.
Originally reported by WWD