Drama and comedy are in demand on television. So, look at The Bear, Abbott Elementary and The Morning Show and ignore most of the Emmys red carpet.
Sighs of admiration and fits of laughter were in short supply this year, with most outfits disappearing from memory faster than a remote control down the back of a sofa. With red carpet evisceration a thing of the past – since the death of comedian Joan Rivers in 2014 – what is Hollywood afraid of?
Emmy winner Elizabeth Debicki’s black tank dress from Christian Dior was regal and restrained, but even Princess Diana, whom she played in The Crown, would have added some sparkle. Balenciaga ambassador Naomi Watts fulfilled her professional duties in a strapless emerald gown from the controversial label, but the only edgy details were the creases in her skirt.
With luxury labels falling over themselves to dress actors, a red carpet result comparable to a year 10 school formal is as disappointing as season four of Emily in Paris.
Fortunately, some stars are willing to risk expulsion from the princess-gown club, dominated by Reese Witherspoon in black Dior and Brie Larson in black Chanel.
The Bear’s Ayo Edebiri took a welcome risk, stepping out from the monochrome crowd in a custom Bottega Veneta strapless gown embellished with black, red and yellow sequins, with a slit in the skirt.
Edebiri shares stylist Danielle Goldberg with Greta Lee, which explains The Morning Show star’s equally risky and rewarding white lace dress from the Loewe runway. On a carpet filled with tailored fits, the loose scarf dress, which could be mistaken for a timely run-in with vintage curtains, looked both cool and comfortable.
Kristen Wiig also got serious, in a rigid, basket-weave strapless gown from Oscar de la Renta that looked like awards armour.
Not all risks pay off, but that’s where the night’s few giggles came in. Actor Eiza Gonzalez from the Netflix series 3 Body Problem and singer Rita Ora wore nearly identical candy pink dresses from Australian designer Tamara Ralph. The sleek silhouette of the fitted strapless gowns, fought with playful feathered trains, bringing a ticklish touch of the French bordello to downtown Los Angeles.
This year, the men got to play bigger fashion roles on the Emmys red carpet, except for Jeremy Allen White in a custom black-tie suit and presumably the underwear he models from Calvin Klein.
Former Fleabag “hot priest” Andrew Scott brought the dark sexiness of Ripley to the red carpet in a custom Vivienne Westwood shawl-collared shirt with a ruffled shirt that Jerry Seinfeld might describe as pirate-like. Bridgerton’s Jonathan Bailey moved with rat-pack swagger in a Giorgio Armani suit with a pleasantly unbuttoned bronze silk shirt. Host Dan Levy combined the beauty of origami with the practicality of a tucked napkin in a Loewe outfit with a peaked white top.
You could almost hear Joan Rivers from the beyond, champing at the bit for some equal-opportunity evaluations.