Last week, Vogue released their March issue with pop-star and fashion icon, Sabrina Carpenter dazzling us in a custom made Dolce & Gabbana dress on the front cover. Carpenter seems to be channeling Madonna as she poses for photographer Steve Meisel, who has photographed Madonna many times in the past and is the man behind this issue’s shoot. Within the issue, Carpenter poses in black and white, embracing an old-Hollywood look, posing similarly to Madonna. However, the parallels between Carpenter and Madonna extend far beyond Carpenter’s cover of Vogue’s March issue.
Sabrina Carpenter photographed by Steven Meisel for Vogue.
The two icons have made a strong impact on their respective generations in extremely similar ways, from inspiring women to embrace their femininity by creating songs that express their sexuality to showcasing their confidence through their wardrobe. These two women have left a lasting impression on so many.
Sabrina Carpenter was once known as a Disney Channel star, with her role in “Girl Meets World” being the catalyst for her discovery. But in recent years, Carpenter transformed her career to become a full-fledged, rambunctious pop-star. This transition into pop music and a mature femininity that Carpenter accomplished is quite similar to Madonna’s.
Madonna’s first album, “Madonna”, did not come off as sexual in any way and included songs such as “Holiday”, giving her audience an innocent impression that differed from the reputation she’s known for. Madonna then trasnformed her image into one that embraces femininty and her sexuality. From going from her punk-inspired “Like A Virgin” era, to her old-hollywood glam of “Material Girl”. Madonna was the queen of reinvention by evolving her image to embrace the confidence she had in her own femininity.
The two artists’ music is also extremely comparable as Carpenter has gone down a similar rabbit hole as Madonna by having her songs lean on the raunchier side, as her music progresses. Carpenter’s debut EP, “Can’t Blame A Girl For Trying” was released in 2014 when she was just fifteen. This song reflected the innocent reputation that Carpenter was showcasing given the fact that she was a child actor at the time. However, in Carpenter’s most recent album, “Short & Sweet”, her songs have matured and cover the topics of relationships, love, sex, and femininity.
In her Interview with Vogue for their March issue, Carpenter talks about how this album showcases who she is now. “Short n’ Sweet is absolutely me … There’s no like alter ego. But it’s definitely a more emphasized version of me.”
The songs in the album showcase a Sabrina Carpenter that is much more in tune with her sexuality as an adult, completely escaping the family-friendly reputation given to her by acting on Disney as a child.
Carpenter’s song “Juno” contains a line where she sings, “Have you ever tried this one,” referring to a sex position. At Carpenter’s most recent tour, the Short n’ Sweet tour, she sings this line from “Juno” at every show and while doing so, she showcases a different sex position, emphasizing her sexual progression and embrace of her feminine reinvention.
This demonstration within Carpenter’s performances of her song “Juno” is extremely similar to Madonna’s songs, “Like a Prayer” and “Like a Virgin”, that shook the world with its combination of pop and provocative storytelling. More specifically, Madonna’s performance of Like A Virgin at the 1984 VMAs. It was Madonna’s debut of the song and was renowned as “boldly sexual,” in US Magazine. This reaction also came from the fact that she was performing in a white bustier corset, a style choice that came off as extremely provocative. And about 40 years later, we see Carpenter choosing to perform in diamond-encrusted corsets several times throughout her Short n’ Sweet tour. Needless to say, these two pop icons are not afraid to be their true selves, and showcase their confidence through their fashion choices while doing so.
And speaking about femininity, Madonna paved the way for women in pop-culture by not only owning her sexuality, but showcasing it. Sabrina Carpenter has also done this through her pop music career, by demonstrating this unapologetic attitude and self-empowerment through sexiness that mirrors Madonna’s impact.
