Rihanna, Miley Cyrus Flaunt New 'Dos On VMA Red Carpet

The fashion on the 2012 Video Music Awards red carpet was as glorious and unpredictable as ever. Our host for the evening, Holland Roden of "Teen Wolf" wore a nude Pamela Roland knee-length dress with Giuseppe Zanotti heels and Neil Lane jewelry, but the rest of this year's attendees' fashion ran the gamut from paint-splattered, waxed jeans on Mac Miller to long gowns on Alicia Keys and Katy Perry.

Hair news was big this year, Rihanna debuted a short, sweet, jet-black pixie cut. Miley Cyrus, who broke Twitter this summer with the news that she'd lopped off her hair into a spiky, punky 'do, unveiled how abbreviated locks set off an evening ensemble and Pink flaunted a row of metal spikes in the part of her hair. Alicia Keys, our resident Girl On Fire also showed off a shorter, sleek, blunt bob with honeyed highlights.

The biggest style surprise of the night had to go to Ke$ha who, despite earlier red-carpet appearances, elected to forgo the smeared face dirt, cheek glitter and deconstructed garbage bags for shiny blonde, pin-straight hair, clean looking makeup and a black, floral overlay, mini dress that the "Blow" singer actually helped design herself. The dress took two weeks to create with the help of cocktail-dress designer, Ugo Zaldi, and for the record, the work paid off.

Even though the VMAs always showcase a slew of unorthodox red carpet looks, there were a surprising number of floor-length dresses but that's where the traditional elements stop. Miley, Alicia and Katy all wore dresses that flaunted trains. Miley's frock, a somewhat goth look for the singer, featured cut-out chiffon panels strategically located on the bodice. Alicia's dress was olive, draped, asymmetrical and wholly goddess-like, and Katy, whose hair flowed in pretty tendrils over her shoulders, wore a sequined black dress with blue-and-red floral patterns and well as a leather bow.

The Jersey Shore cast (save JWoww and new mom Snooki) gathered on the red carpet en masse looking as gloriously tanned and well turned out as ever but my personal runaway favorite was the curveball of Vinny's '50s throwback look with thick-rimmed Ray Ban glasses, a red Michael Bastian jacket with a popped collar, rolled-up Diesel jeans, white socks and Prada loafers. I'm always a sucker for an outlier (though admittedly I wish his jeans were selvage and in a darker rinse).

The Wanted boys did not disappoint the glut of screaming fans and all wore complementary Tommy Hilfiger suits. Not to look too matchy and boy band-ish, each switched up the detailing on the tie, shirt, shoes and the pattern of the suiting. There were pinstripes, plaids as well as Jay representing for the adventurous V-neck set with a tee that showed off a positively titillating amount of sternum. Bless.

Other fellas were definitely putting D's on their chest in the dapper department, namely 2Chainz who was dripping in Versace hardware with a studded leather jacket, Versace logo Medusa head Jesus piece, slip-on Medusa shoes and metallic pants. The only details that Donatella did not dream up were the Givenchy locket on his other chain (spoiler: like Kevin Hart mentioned, dude has WAY more than just the two chains) as well as the Givenchy cap on his covetable, long hair. If he ever Gift of the Magi'd his braids ladyfans would be so, so, so sad.

Mac Miller wore one of the few Canadian Tuxes of the night in paint-splattered jeans and a studded denim jacket. One of my favorite couple looks of the night was the all-black on Wiz Khalifa and Amber Rose. Wiz's shrunken suit ended in monk-strap shoes and Amber wore a skin-tight dress that gently curved at her baby bump. They were conscientiously picking bits of lint off each other and holding each other close. Excellent team work.

Another personal favorite of the night was the Roc Nation young'n Rita Ora who also wore Pucci. Her deep-V, long-sleeved, jewel-encrusted romper was somehow covered in shattered jewel shards yet fit her like a glove. Rita mentioned that it was custom made and the bespoke attention-to-detail definitely shows in the artist's enviable topography. In other romper news, Nicki Minaj also wore a Versace onesie that hugged her curves gloriously. A jaunty police cap topped the look.

Who had your favorite look of the night? Let us know in the comments!