It’s the sisterhood of the traveling dress!
Country music fans had déjà vu during Wednesday’s 15th Annual Academy of Country Music Honors in Nashville, Tenn., when singer Kelsea Ballerini, 28, paid tribute to fellow country-pop superstar Shania Twain, 56, by rewearing the iconic white dress Twain wore to the 1999 Grammy Awards.
The sequined, long-sleeved turtleneck gown, designed by Marc Bouwer, had previously been on display at the Grammy Museum in Los Angeles. It holds a special place in Twain’s heart, given that she wore it the night she won two Grammys for Best Female Country Vocal Performance and Best Country Song for the hit “You’re Still the One.”
While on the red carpet for the ceremony, Twain told Entertainment Tonight that she was “blown away” seeing her famous dress reimagined.
“She looks stunning,” the singer, who was honored with the Poet’s Award at the event, said of Ballerini. “She looks like an absolute angel. It’s very flattering to see her in the dress, and that she even wanted to wear it. I said, ‘I hope it’s not too dusty after being in the [Grammy Museum].'”
Twain said when she wore the dress herself back in 1999, “it was an incredible night for me at the Grammys.”
“That dress represented that experience, so I’m just happy to see it alive again. Now it has a new life, and it has new memories, and it’s really great to be able to share that with other people, with another women. Obviously it’s a huge compliment to be admired enough that someone would want to step into my dress,” she said.
Twain also took to her Instagram Stories to express her excitement, writing simply, “The dress!!” alongside a sweet photo of the duo on the red carpet.
The significance wasn’t lost on Ballerini either, who shared intimate moments of herself admiring the look on her own Instagram Stories.
“Sisterhood of the traveling dress,” she wrote alongside a photo of Twain in the look.
Ballerini explained to ET that the dress is only allowed to leave the museum for 48 hours, adding that she had a “back up” just in case the curators wouldn’t let her take it out of the building.
“It’s Shania’s night! When I was asked to be a part of it, to honor her, we were just thinking about every possible way that we can highlight every stage of her career,” Ballerini said. “One of the things that I think she’s an icon because of is her fashion, and the way she’s always pushing boundaries. I wanted to honor that part of her, too.”
Added Ballerini: “To be able to honor her is one thing, but to be able to honor her and have her blessing… It’s like, ‘I like what you’re doing enough to let you wear my dress that I won my Grammys in.'”
As for its designer, Bouwer was on board, highlighting photos of Ballerini slipping into the dress ahead of the big night.
Talk about a fashion moment!
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