Who says the golden age of prestige TV is over? Not anyone watching last night’s broadcast of the 78th Emmy Awards, that’s for certain. As the creators of Widow’s Bay, The Pitt, Pluribus, The Gilded Age, Slow Horses, and Hacks picked up their statuettes last night, it underscored just how strong the 2026 lineup has been so far.
The red-carpet styling was no less satisfying. While previous years have been marked by a game of brinksmanship among Hollywood’s elite to outdo each other with ever-freakier getups, this award season kicked off with remarkable restraint. Yes, there were some big swings courtesy of Alan Cumming and Colman Domingo—a man who seems incapable of looking bad in anything—but most of the night’s best looks showed you don’t need to reinvent black-tie to make it look fresh. From wide trousers to quirky neckwear to the right brooch, red carpet excellence is all in the details. Here are our favorites.
11. Noah Wyle in Brunello Cucinelli
There are no fancy bells and whistles here, no wacky designer flourishes or weirdo, fresh-off-the-runway deep cuts. All that’s here is The Pitt star Noah Wyle looking every bit the leading man in an almost-gray evening jacket and just-right black trousers. On a night when Hollywood’s flashiest dressers are encouraged to really go for it, keeping it simple is a swerve in and of itself.
10. Matthew Rhys in Thom Browne
Rhys made history last night as the first actor to win two lead acting Emmys in a single night—for his roles in Widow’s Bay and The Beast in Me—and he turned to arguably the modern Hollywood red-carpet standard bearer for his ensemble: Thom Browne. Rather than showing out in one of Browne’s zingier kilts or tweeds, the Welshman opted for a classic black three-piece in the designer’s signature shrunken cut. All the better to let his dual hardware really shine.
