Céline Dion Has Worn Some Very Risqué Outfits Over The Years

Céline Dion is a style icon. Over the years, the singer has rocked some decidedly risqué outfits, making her a staple on the award show best — and sometimes worst — dressed lists. She is regularly spotted sitting front and center at fashion shows globally and sashaying down catwalks for the world’s top haute couture designers.

Whether she hits or misses in the style stakes, it’s clear that Dion’s spent millions on her closet. But then, being one of the richest celebrities in the world, she’s able to splash serious cash on Rodeo Drive without giving it a second thought. According to Forbes, despite Dion’s health issues seriously impacting her career, she is still worth an astounding $550 million. That’s a lot of Versace by anyone’s standards.

Unlike many other high-profile celebs, Dion refuses to take fashion freebies. She insists on supporting couturiers and paying her own way. “I have always bought everything myself. I didn’t want to borrow. It’s a form of respect,” she told Vogue France in April 2024. “People pay to come and hear me sing, so I pay to buy myself clothes by designers.” She recalled the first time she met Karl Lagerfeld. “You remind me of La Callas,” he told her, resulting in Dion treating herself to one of his jackets. It’s little wonder that she’s beloved by all the top labels. We’re looking at some of Dion’s favorite designer duds and risqué outfits over the years.

Whether she is on the stage, catwalk, or red carpet, Céline Dion knows how to make an impact. It’s safe to say that her dazzling Met Gala 2019 outfit was one of the standout looks of the night, jostling for first place with Kim Kardashian’s wet-look skin-tight silk organza and crystal-dripping Thierry Mugler dress.

Dion went all out on the evening’s “Camp: Notes on Fashion” theme with an over-the-top and absolutely fabulous Oscar de la Renta ensemble that took 3,000 hours to create. The label’s designers, Laura Kim and Fernando Garcia, turned to Judy Garland and iconic vaudeville showgirls the Ziegfeld Follies for inspiration, creating a fantastic shimmering bodysuit encased in 3,000 strands of silver fringe crafted from glass beads, topped off with a spectacular headpiece comprised of singed peacock feathers.

“Forget about it! I am like, like, just amazing,” she told Vogue France in April 2024 while reminiscing about the look. “Those feathers on my head that night, it was not easy, but I loved myself so much.” Given that Dion smashed the night’s theme out of the park, it was a surprise to learn that she didn’t initially understand what “camp” meant. “I thought everyone was going to be sleeping together,” she told The Cut on Instagram Stories. “We’re going to be camping? That’s not my cup of tea.”

Céline Dion’s avant-garde outfit that she wore to the 2017 Billboard Music Awards didn’t disappoint. She performed “My Heart Will Go On” from “Titanic” in honor of its 20th anniversary, but it was the dress that stole the show. With its front slashed to the waist, voluminous puffy sleeves, and metallic embellishment, the Stéphane Rolland Couture gown was truly memorable.

“I love that dress so much, the cloud. I think the crowd loved that dress as well,” Dion told Vogue France. “I had a choir and a cloud dress that night, and it was amazing.” She was clearly moved to be singing the song, putting her heart and soul into it, and appearing close to tears at the end.

It was ironic, given Dion wasn’t a fan of the track. In May 2017, she told Billboard, “I wanted to choke my husband,” after he suggested she make a demo of it. “When I recorded it, I didn’t think about a movie; I didn’t think about radio. I thought, ‘Sing the song, then get the heck out of there,'” Dion admitted. However, she says she’s grateful she was persuaded otherwise. “I’m so thankful that they did not listen to me. I said, ‘No way, José. At the end of the day, I’m the one that sings it and sells it. I’m not doing that.’ I’m so glad that my husband said, ‘I really think that you should do that song.'”

Three years after Céline Dion scored her first English-language album hit with “Unison” in 1990, she also began scoring big on the red carpet. The singer positively smoldered at the 20th Annual American Music Awards in January 1993, thanks to her fiery red Versace dress. True to the Italian label’s aesthetic, Dion’s risqué outfit was skin-tight with a cut-out bondage-style corset top.

“Versace was one of my favorite designers, of course,” Dion told Vogue France while talking about a vermilion bodycon dress by the couturier she wore to the Tony Awards in 1997. “I look good in that dress, or it’s just because I look good in red. But it’s a Versace dress, too, come on!”

The singer’s closet would leave even the most hardened fashionistas drooling with envy. It’s bursting at the seams with all of the fabulous creations she’s worn over the years, as Dion keeps all her outfits even if she has no intention of ever dressing in them again. “If I wore it once, I might not wear it again, or I’ll let time pass before I wear it again,” she told The Globe and Mail in October 2019. Meanwhile, the collection is vast, and she has a sentimental connection to certain garments. “I do have pieces by people who have passed away that I cherish a lot,” Dion shared.

Céline Dion was a cream dream during Paris Haute Couture Fashion Week in 2019. The singer gave off serious haute couture ballerina vibes with her hair pulled up in a tight bun and a flowing, off-the-shoulder puff-skirt Alexandre Vauthier satin gown with long billowing sleeves. The dress’ super short hemline paired with Dion’s strappy high-heel gold sandals helped make the most of her long tan legs.

She rocked another daring Vauthier design during her visit to the French capital. Dion’s second daring outfit consisted of a blue puff-sleeve jumpsuit slashed to the waist, a matching flight attendant-style hat with a net face veil perched at a jaunty angle, and black leather booties. She wore the ensemble for a night out at the Folies Bergere Music Hall.

Despite her many attendances, Dion says she never tires of style events. “I’ve looked at fashions through computers but to attend fashion shows, it’s like it’s breathtaking!” she told The Globe and Mail. Dion said nothing beats watching shows in person, as you can really live and breathe the performance. “It strikes you much more powerfully. The power that it does, like the characters that [models] play by walking,” she said. “I feel that because I’m an artist and when I’m on stage and when I sing a song, what I wear helps me to deliver the song a certain way or another.”

Céline Dion’s risqué outfit for the 2003 Billboard Music Awards at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas in December 2003 left nothing to the imagination. The Québécoise wowed, flashing the flesh in a cream-colored Grecian-style gown with a thin front panel attached to an exceedingly low-riding waistband and sparkly sequin and crystal trim.

The look was so memorable that Billboard included it as one of their 64 most memorable Billboard Music Awards moments of all time in October 2020. “Backstage at the 2003 Billboard Music Awards, pop balladeer Celine Dion bonded over bare midriffs with country star Shania Twain,” it captioned a photo of the two. “You know, everybody was getting undressed. Jennifer Lopez came, and she was naked. Me too,” Dion told Access Hollywood while critiquing the red carpet look in April 2019.

Dion gives a lot of credit for her fashion-forward style to her stylists, Pepe Muñoz and Sydney Lopez. During her chat with The Globe and Mail, she said that they’re adding an extra edge to her stage costumes, event outfits, and everyday looks — something she embraces with open arms. “When you wear an haute couture gown or a bomber jacket or jeans or flat shoes or heels … if it is something very sexy or something very elegant, I will walk differently; my demeanor will be different. I will sing differently as well,” Dion said.