It’s Fashion Time: Here Are the 20 Best- and Worst-Dressed Celebrities at the Emmys
It’s time for the most glamorous night in television! Long past time, in fact, as the 2023 Emmy Awards got shunted to 2024 because of the labor disputes and strikes that rocked the industry for a good chunk of last year. But everyone showed up tonight in big smiles, ready and willing to hit that red carpet and dazzle the folks at home. Here are our picks for the most fashionable, fun, and occasionally downright questionable looks of the night
Ali Wong in Louis Vuitton
The star of Beef sported a dazzling floral sequin skirt courtesy of Louis Vuitton. Unfortunately, it was attached to a perfectly nice bodice that had nothing to do with it. The result was a dress that looked like a random meeting between parts of other dresses. Ali—and that skirt—deserved better than this bizarre mismatch.
Aubrey Plaza in Loewe
The White Lotus star stuck to the kind of fashion she does best: stark, offbeat, and a little threatening. Sure, you might say she looks like a Post-it Note and you probably wouldn’t want to be seated to her right, but we absolutely adore a fashion look that screams “I’m not a hugger.” In other words, this is Aubrey Plaza’s whole personality in dress form. It might be a little weird and off-putting, but that’s why we love it.
Elizabeth Debicki in Dior Couture
It’s interesting to note just how far the star of The Crown takes her fashion choices away from the iconic Princess Diana style she rocked for two seasons of the show. The choice of look is almost always modern, sleek, and minimalist. There are times when we wish she’d shake things up more or take them a bit further, but we can’t deny that this gown looks sublime on her. The deep shade of red, walking-away back, and braid sash really elevate it.
Hannah Waddingham in Marchesa
We don’t always love this kind of minty green, but the Ted Lasso star asked designer Georgina Chapman for a dress that matches her eyes and that’s pretty charming. She got what she asked for, but she also got a dress that matched her personality: big, exuberant, fun, glam, and hot. It’s not the freshest style in the world and we aren’t always fans of matching your garments to your own coloring, but sometimes the combo of dress and wearer is so right, we can’t dream of arguing with it.
Issa Rae in Pamella Roland
The Barbie, American Fiction, and Black Lady Sketch Show star is a busy lady having a banner career year, the kind of year that calls for a little bit of a celebration. Not only does this exuberant feather confection feel like a party, but it looks like something you’d see on the hostess of a seventies variety show. It’s giving Cher and Diana Ross. Joyous, glam, and unpretentious style that suits her perfectly; the kind of dress that makes you want to throw your arms wide and spin around.
Riley Keough in Chanel Couture
Sometimes, when we’re faced with a red carpet look so puzzling and impossible to understand that we just have to say out loud “Girl, what?” This is so awkward and dreary looking that we can’t even fathom why it was chosen. We realize actors don’t want to be over-identified with certain characters they play, but she absolutely rocked that Stevie Nicks–inspired look in Daisy Jones & The Six. This is so not Stevie, Riley. That underskirt looks like boxer shorts.
Selena Gomez in Oscar de la Renta
We go back and forth on this one. There’s a certain old-school hot glam feel to this that really suits the star of Only Murders in the Building. On the other hand, there’s a very fine line separating old-school from stale. It doesn’t help that the lining is a bad match, the seams can be seen from a hundred yards away, and the necklace really doesn’t coordinate with it all that well. And since we’re being nitpicky, a matching pedi would’ve helped.
Claire Danes in Balmain
The Fleishman Is in Trouble star has aways had a sleek, sophisticated style, and when she first stepped onto the Emmys red carpet, we assumed we were seeing more of the same. But we were pleasantly surprised when she turned around. From the front, it’s classic minimalism with a slight retro vibe, but from the back, it’s both hot and sparkly—the fashion equivalent of blowing a kiss over your shoulder as you walk away.
Quinta Brunson in Dior Couture
We’re old-fashioned when it comes to certain things. For instance, we strongly believe that a Dior couture piece should represent and display the very best French couturier traditions and atelier techniques. It should not look like it got fished out from under a bed and thrown on. Putting aside the wrinkles, which are clearly part of the design, the whole thing looks so dowdy and unsuited to her.
Rachel Brosnahan in Versace
The star of The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel takes every chance she gets to show you what she can do when she ditches the mid-century styles of her characters and serves up hot, current, totally modern fashion. We don’t blame her. She looks as good in Versace as she did in all of those gorgeous retro costumes. The fit here is exquisite, the vibe is pure sex, and the overall presentation is dead-perfect and impeccable. That burgundy looks amazing on her.
Sarah Snook in Vivienne Westwood
We would like to consider this a course correction and vast improvement from her Golden Globes gown, which we considered one of the worst of the night. This is about as classic as a Westwood design gets and the star of Succession looks spectacular in it. One of the dirty little secrets of red carpet style is that most stars would be much better off sticking with the classics. It’s giving Pretty Woman and Moulin Rouge. You know which dresses we mean.
Jenna Ortega in Dior Couture
Now this is what we expect from the House of Dior. The star of Wednesday ditched her iconic goth style and went for old-fashioned romance with a very French flair to it. She looks like a walking garden. Like a lot of people who can work a goth look, she can turn to romance and whimsy in her style just as easily. The dress is a little stiff-looking, but that just adds to its old-fashioned feel.
Suki Waterhouse in Valentino
We absolutely adored this from the second the star of Daisy Jones & the Six stepped out of her limo. We aren’t so foolish as to suggest that she’s comfy in her current condition, but this is the sexiest, most stylish, and yes, comfortable-looking maternity gown we’ve ever seen. We could’ve done without the big bow, however.
Jessica Chastain in Gucci
The George & Tammy star absolutely never misses with her red carpet style and that might have something to do with the fact that she almost always wears Gucci for major events. She and the house are perfectly suited for each other and she brings out the best in hot, eye-popping designs. The neon looks amazing with her coloring, but we could’ve done without the fringe.
Ayo Edebiri in Louis Vuitton
We’d been trying all year to get a handle on the slightly quirky yet low-key style of the star of The Bear and Bottoms when we realized that “quirky and low-key” describes her personality and performing style perfectly. While we’d much prefer it if she tried slightly more aggressive styling (someone give this woman a cuff and a cocktail ring), she’s clearly using fashion to express who she is. We like the dress. We’d also like more diamonds with it.
Kourtney Kardashian Barker and Travis Barker
The star of The Kardashians and her rock star hubs hit the red carpet in semi-matching tuxedos and promptly started making out in front of the cameras, as is their way. It’s a surprisingly low-key and conservative look for both of them. We tend to hate when couples in any situation show up in matching outfits, but they’re both so gimmicky and attention-oriented that this almost feels like…quiet sophistication?
Niecy Nash-Betts in Greta Constantine
We’ve been saying for years that the star of Dahmer—Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story should release her own line of shapewear and write a fashion advice book, because the fit is always impeccable with her and she never fails to deliver luxuriously curvy glamour in the best screen siren tradition. We don’t even like mermaid skirts and if we’re being honest, we think this sits a little low, but she looks exquisite in it nonetheless.
Bella Ramsey in Prada
For the last year, the star of The Last of Us has been quietly and consistently defining not only their own personal style but helping to establish a blueprint for any nonbinary person who wants to navigate the world of fashion while expressing their true self. The cut and the color story are chef’s-kiss perfect. We think we might’ve liked a jabot or old-style cravat rather than a turtleneck, however.
Dominique Fishback in Miu Miu
The Swarm star took this moment to remind everyone that she can work a Cinderella look with the rest of them. The style is pure princess and she looks dazzling in that pale blue and sprinkling of sparkle. We like that the bust and neckline have a slightly unexpected shape, which gives the look some modernity, just as the dark lip and sleek hair give just a little bit of edge to it. It just needed one honking piece of statement jewelry to complete it.
Katherine Heigl in Reem Acra
Because sometimes, when someone is giving you a flawless Marilyn homage, you just have to applaud it. It’s not the most avant garde or edgy look of the night. The only trend it’s following is the one for red dresses, but they never go out of style. In some ways, it felt like a statement from the former star of Grey’s Anatomy, who was making her first Emmys appearance in years—a way of reminding everyone that her star quality remains as secure as it ever was.
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