The 77th Primetime Emmys gave us a red carpet that could not decide what it wanted to be — and that is exactly why it ruled. One half showed up in molten power red, the other half in structural couture you could practically hear creaking, and somewhere in the middle Lisa floated past in a cloud of pink mesh and quietly ended the whole conversation. Throw in a White Lotus cast takeover, two looks pulled from Giorgio Armani’s final collection before his passing, and a jewels-as-clothing moment that weighed roughly the same as a toddler, and you have the most fun carpet of the early season.
I’ve ranked the 15 that earned it, then tacked on three honorable mentions I refused to leave on the cutting room floor. Let’s go.
1. Lisa in Lever Couture
Embed from Getty ImagesShe wasn’t nominated for acting. She didn’t need to be. Lisa – White Lotus season three’s Mook, and the only person here who turned a red carpet into a religious experience – wore a cotton-candy-pink confection by Lessja Verlingieri of Lever Couture, from the German house’s Velocity of Emotions collection. Bvlgari Serpenti at the throat, Christian Louboutin Miss Z Strass pumps in Vintage Rose on the feet.
2. Jenna Ortega in Givenchy
Embed from Getty ImagesJenna Ortega does not wear clothes; she method-dresses. For her presenter slot she pulled look 47 from Sarah Burton’s debut Givenchy collection – a halter “top” constructed entirely out of oversized jewels, pearls, and resin drops in red, amber, green, and yellow. The reference? Isabella Rossellini’s enchantress in Death Becomes Her. The execution? A 20-to-30-pound feat of engineering paired with a low-slung black skirt slit to the thigh, bleached brows, a sleek pony, and a deep crimson lip.
3. Michelle Monaghan in Rabanne
Embed from Getty ImagesHer son called her a disco ball. He was right, and it was a compliment. Monaghan – fresh off a critically adored White Lotus turn – slipped into a custom Julien Dossena for Rabanne gown in liquid silver chainmail that threw light from every conceivable angle. She let the metal do all the talking: glowing, stripped-back skin (she’s a new U Beauty ambassador and it showed), De Beers diamonds, Giuseppe Zanotti mules.
4. Selena Gomez in Louis Vuitton
Embed from Getty ImagesSelena is in her red era and I am fully on board. Days before her wedding to Benny Blanco – who showed up as the world’s most dapper plus-one in all black – she arrived in a custom Louis Vuitton column gown in vivid scarlet, with a faux-scarf detail that wrapped the neck and spilled down her back into a train, plus a thigh-high slit for good measure. Slicked-back pony, Tiffany & Co. Blue Book rubies and diamonds, matching strappy sandals.
5. Colman Domingo in Valentino
Embed from Getty ImagesThe most reliably fearless man on any carpet did it again. Nominated for The Four Seasons, Domingo went full Alessandro Michele Valentino: a pale-blue checked blazer dripping with fringed crystal embellishments, a baby-blue polka-dot mandarin-collar shirt, a tasseled scarf, and – wait for it – warm brown trousers. Omega Speedmaster, Boucheron jewels, a Bollywood-meets-old-Hollywood swagger that nobody else could have pulled off.
6. Sydney Sweeney in Oscar de la Renta
Embed from Getty ImagesPure va-va-voom. Sweeney swept in as a presenter wearing custom Oscar de la Renta in fire-engine red crepe-back satin – a strapless gown with a bow-draped sweetheart neckline, a cinched hourglass waist, and a mermaid train, finished with a satin shawl draped over her forearms. Then she casually layered on 175 carats of Lorraine Schwartz diamonds, because subtlety wasn’t invited.
7. Cate Blanchett in Armani Privé
Embed from Getty ImagesLeave it to Cate Blanchett to make a velvet jumpsuit feel more commanding than any gown in the building. For her Disclaimer nomination she chose an Armani Privé Fall 2025 jumpsuit – masculine tailoring, crisp white cuffs, a silver-mesh neckline, an open back, and the subtlest hip cutouts. The styling whispered where everyone else screamed.
8. Aimee Lou Wood in McQueen
Embed from Getty ImagesWhite Lotus‘ resident astrology dreamer cleaned up beautifully. Up for her first Emmy as Chelsea, Aimee Lou Wood wore a pink satin gown by Seán McGirr for McQueen with a sweetheart neckline and a winking faux-bra detail – a second crimson sweetheart layered underneath like a peekaboo bustier – finishing into a ladylike train. Baby-pink Jimmy Choo “Love” pumps, David Yurman jewels, a wash of Edie-Sedgwick-by-way-of-Twiggy retro charm.
9. Jessica Williams in Rodarte
Embed from Getty ImagesSoft-launch romance, and I mean that as the highest praise. The Shrinking star – back at the Emmys for a second supporting-actress nod – turned to Kate and Laura Mulleavy of Rodarte for a blush, off-the-shoulder gown with flowing draped layers and a long, dreamy train. David Yurman jewels, glowing skin, the whole rom-com-heroine fantasy.
10. Chloë Sevigny in Saint Laurent
Embed from Getty ImagesThe forever It-girl finally got her first Emmy nod (for Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story) and naturally she met the moment in Anthony Vaccarello’s Saint Laurent: a black velvet halter dress with thick straps, a high side slit, and puffed sleeves. The genius detail – two Jean Schlumberger for Tiffany Maltese Cross brooches in gold and diamonds clipped to the straps, an exact echo of the white-diamond version she wore (also in black Saint Laurent) at the 2000 Oscars.
11. Quinta Brunson in Louis Vuitton
Embed from Getty ImagesThree nominations for Abbott Elementary and a black halter Louis Vuitton gown with a single dramatic keyhole cutout – the kind of restrained, razor-sharp choice that telegraphs I have nothing to prove. She paired it with her pixie cut styled into slick curls and let the negative space carry the drama. Quinta keeps proving you don’t need volume or sparkle to win the carpet. You need one perfect idea, executed exactly.
12. Walton Goggins in Louis Vuitton
Embed from Getty ImagesRick Hatchett would never. Walton Goggins would, and did. The White Lotus nominee swapped Thailand cabana-core for crisp custom Louis Vuitton: a white single-breasted tuxedo jacket, white silk shirt unbuttoned just so, black trousers, shades. The real flex was the David Yurman snake jewelry – an ouroboros ring, a gold serpent bracelet, and a malachite-and-emerald amulet – a full set of nods to his character’s serpentine season.
13. Cristin Milioti in Danielle Frankel
Embed from Getty ImagesThe night’s quiet shock to the system. A first-time nominee who left as the winner of Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited Series for The Penguin, Milioti arrived in a custom red Danielle Frankel gown – a tailored column base, a sculptural bustier with an exaggerated neckline, and silk draping that twisted asymmetrically around her into a dramatic train.
14. Chase Sui Wonders in Thom Browne
Embed from Getty ImagesIf The Studio had won for costume design I’d have hand-engraved Chase Sui Wonders a trophy myself. She wore custom black Thom Browne in 3-ply mohair: an off-the-shoulder corset gown with sharply jutting hips, finished at the back with the house’s signature tri-color lace-up running top to bottom. Longwing spectator brogue platforms and Tiffany & Co. Bird on a Rock emerald earrings turned a menswear-inspired silhouette into pure architecture.
15. Hannah Einbinder in Louis Vuitton
Embed from Getty ImagesShe finally won – Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series for Hacks, on her fourth nomination – and she did it shimmering in a one-shoulder Louis Vuitton gown blanketed in silver sequins and embroidered with matte black pearls in a lace-like floral pattern. A red Artists4Ceasefire pin sat on her shoulder, and stylist Jamie Mizrahi kept the whole thing glamorous and clean.
Honorable Mentions
Scarlett Johansson in custom Prada. A genuine surprise drop – no nomination, no presenting slot, just ScarJo and Colin Jost gliding in as the best-dressed couple nobody saw coming. Her butter-yellow Prada column gown in silk chiffon and crepe, with soft ruching across the bodice and hips, made the case that pastel yellow is an evening color now. De Beers Talisman diamonds, vanilla-blonde waves, sun-kissed glow. Effortless A-lister energy.
Embed from Getty ImagesLeslie Bibb in Giorgio Armani Privé. The other half of the night’s Armani tribute. White Lotus’ Kate arrived alongside nominee Sam Rockwell in a black silk-velvet strapless gown with a sculptural ruffled sweetheart neckline and crystal beading across the midsection like military buttons – and it carried real weight, sourced from Armani’s very last Privé collection.
Embed from Getty ImagesCatherine Zeta-Jones in Yara Shoemaker Couture. Morticia herself returned to the Emmys after a four-year break and brought every ounce of Wednesday gothic glamour with her. A black strapless gown with a semi-sheer, scalloped corset bodice, lace appliqué, and a floor-length beaded skirt, layered with 35 carats of Stephen Silver diamonds, a brown lip, and that signature eyeliner.
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