Emmys 2026 Best Dressed, and How to Get the Look
The 78th Emmys put down a blue carpet at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles on 14 September, and it decided the night. Navy kills a black gown. So the...
The 78th Emmys put down a blue carpet at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles on 14 September, and it decided the night. Navy kills a black gown. So the best-dressed list came back in colour: scarlet, gold, crystal silver, cobalt, and one very deliberate white. Mariska Hargitay, hosting for the first time and the first woman to do it in fifteen years, opened in sequinned red before she had said a word.
None of it is unwearable, either. Four of the five looks below are the same dress underneath: a fitted column to the floor. What changes is the colour, plus one textural decision each. That formula survives a wedding or a December party, so here it is, with the high-street versions.
The colours that won the night
Nothing dominated, which is the point — every one of these read loud against a navy carpet.
Crystal silver
#C9CBD1
Emmy gold
#C69A42
Carpet scarlet
#C4162A
Chanel white
#F4F2ED
Cobalt
#1F4FD8
Five looks from the Emmys 2026 blue carpet
Custom Prada, crystals and a crop
A sheer nude tulle column with what looks like every crystal in the building welded onto it, cut to a V that runs most of the way to the waist, trailing a short train. The new pixie is doing half the work. Take the hair right down and a dress this decorated stops reading as costume. Pearl drops at the ears, nothing else. On the high street this is the sheer-panel embellished maxi, where the sparkle sits on mesh rather than a solid lining, so the dress moves instead of standing still.
Shop silver embellished gowns
How to wear a red-carpet look in real life
Four rules from the Emmys carpet
Change the colour, keep the shape
A fitted column to the floor turned up on four of the five best looks of the night. Buy the shape you already know suits you and spend the nerve on colour instead.
Sparkle wants mesh, not lining
Embellishment stitched onto a sheer panel moves with you. The same beading on a stiff lining just sits there, and it reads cheap under a flash. Check the fabric before you check the price.
One textural moment, not five
Kidman had flowers at the bust and plain crepe everywhere else. Pick the one place your dress is allowed to get loud.
Match the shoe to the dress on a strong colour
Scarlet with scarlet, gold with gold. A nude heel under a saturated floor-length gown breaks the line at the ankle, which is the one place you want it unbroken.
Shop the sparkle
If the gowns above are doing something to you and the budget is not playing along, start here. Sequins and embellishment, nothing over £60.
Occasionwear moves fast and party season is about to make it move faster. If something here is in your size today, that is not a promise about next month. Prices shift too, so what you see is whatever the retailers are charging right now.