Kelly Clarkson's Top 3 Red Carpet Looks of the Year, As Chosen by Her Stylist

Stylist Candice Lambert had a plan of attack for Kelly Clarkson's red carpet comeback: "Soulful, sexy and strong"

Kelly Clarkson burst back on the music scene this fall with her comeback album Meaning of Life — and with it came a new plan of attack for the red carpet.

She worked with stylist Candice Lambert to craft her approach, which Lambert tells PeopleStyle was a tribute “to the ‘90s era of the big singers and cool aesthetics of pop soulful era that Whitney Houston, Mariah Carey, En Vogue all came from.” That translated into “a theme for the album that is majority black with pops of gold,” says the stylist. “The vibe is soulful, sexy, strong, and a bit of rock ’n’ roll.”

Lambert, who also works with musicians like Bon Jovi, Green Day and a cappella supergroup Pentatonix, says the result has been nothing short of “exceptional.”

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“I don’t ever settle for the easy look, I wanted to really explore fashion and expression,” she says. “There is an art behind what stylists do. I feel that clothes communicate to the masses on who you are, how you feel and what you want to say without speaking.”

So, which of Clarkson’s looks stood out the most this year? Scroll down for Lambert’s top picks.

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At the American Music Awards in Christian Siriano

Lambert says this custom Christian Siriano design, which she paired with vintage Chanel accessories, “was a big moment for Kelly” because of the timing of her new album, announcement of her new label and because she was due to perform twice at the November event. “I wanted and needed this night to be perfect for her,” says Lambert, so she called designer Christian Siriano to come up with a few concepts. “The black and gold velvet and sequin red carpet dress really encompassed everything Kelly and I wanted,” she adds. “It showed her beautiful curves, it was sexy, had a bit of glam, it was fun, unique and had that soulful ‘90s glamorous vibe. Watching her that night, I literally cried — it was perfect.”

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At the Variety Power of Women Luncheon in Tibi

Because Clarkson was due to receive an award at the October event, “we wanted this look to be glamorous but not over the top, sexy but strong,” Lambert says of this choice, which she paired with Saint Laurent heels. “We ended up choosing this Tibi off-the-shoulder dress, which looks beautiful on Kelly. It really accentuated her curves and showed off that sexy part of a woman’s body, the collarbone-shoulder area. The stripes added a little fun and uniqueness to the dress, which gave it the little pop we wanted.”

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At the Billboard Women in Music Event in Custom Hillary Adcock

To perform and attend this event, Lambert chose a custom black wrap dress with a graphic sparkly design by Nashville designer Hillary Adcock of Tenbrook Design, and paired the look with Saint Laurent heels. “It was the perfect amount of glam for this event, and when she performed it gleamed just right,” says Lambert. “This cut and style of dress is one of our favorites to wear. My number one goal is for her to feel beautiful, sexy and empowered through her clothes, because she is all of those things and empowers so many others through her music. She deserves to feel like the goddess that she is.”

Ultimately, Lambert says she wants to keep delivering memorable moments for her clients in the coming year. “My goals for next year are to keep pushing forward,” she says. “ I want to keep finding new and emerging designers, keep pushing the envelope, keep exploring, learning, breaking boundaries and, most of all, have fun doing it all.”