The 76th annual Emmy Awards are on Sunday, and while the last few years brought with them much change (the 72nd were hosted amid pandemic-induced chaos by Jimmy Kimmel to an empty room and no red carpet, while the 74th were delayed due to Hollywood labor disputes and strikes), this year promises a return to tradition: We can expect television’s finest together in one room once again — more specifically, the Peacock Theatre in Los Angeles — with father-son duo Eugene and Dan Levy playing host.
Each year, people wait with bated breath to see gowns aplenty (with the exception of 2020’s luxe pajama-wearing guests by virtual means), using them as inspo for months ahead or even as reference points in later years. With this in mind, we took a trip down memory lane, back to the likes of SJP’s feathered Oscar de la Renta from 2000 and that 2016 Emilia Clarke Versace number, all the way to Simona Tabasco’s positively delightful Marni earlier in 2024.
Over the last two-and-a-bit decades, celebrations of television shows — ranging from Friends and Sex and the City in the ‘90s and ‘00s to Grey’s Anatomy and Game of Thrones in the 2010s, up until The Crown and Outstanding Comedy Series 2024 nominee The Bear in recent years — have resulted in some of Hollywood’s greatest red carpet fashion moments. Of the many winning Emmy looks, there was Jennifer Aniston’s white, strapless Chanel from 2004, Kerry Washington’s orange Prada from 2014, and, of course, Zendaya’s show-stopping green custom Vera Wang from 2019.
Click through our list of the best Emmys looks of all time (or at least the last 24 years) ahead.
Ayo Edebiri in Louis Vuitton, 2023
Photo: Neilson Barnard/Getty Images.
Jessica Chastain in Gucci, 2023
Photo: Neilson Barnard/Getty Images.
Simona Tabasco in Marni, 2023
Photo: Neilson Barnard/Getty Images.
Lily James in Versace, 2022
Photo: Momodu Mansaray/Getty Images.
Hoyeon Jung in Louis Vuitton, 2022
Photo: Momodu Mansaray/Getty Images.
Michaela Coel in Christopher John Rogers, 2021
Photo: Rich Fury/Getty Images.
Yara Shahidi in Dior Haute Couture, 2021
Photo: Rich Fury/Getty Images.
Zendaya in Custom Armani Privé, 2020
Regina King in Schiaparelli, 2020
Tracee Ellis Ross in Alexandre Vauthier, 2020
Zendaya in Vera Wang, 2019
Photo: Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images.
Sophie Turner in Louis Vuitton, 2019
Photo: John Shearer/Getty Images.
Tracee Ellis Ross in Valentino, 2018
Photo: Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic.
Jessica Biel in Ralph & Russo, 2018
Photo: Dan MacMedan/Getty Images.
Millie Bobbie Brown in Calvin Klein, 2018
Photo: John Shearer/Getty Images.
Thandie Newton in Brandon Maxwell, 2018
Photo: Dan MacMedan/Getty Images.
Tessa Thompson in Rosie Assoulin, 2017
Photo: Kevin Mazur/WireImage.
Sarah Paulson in Carolina Herrera, 2017
Photo: John Shearer/Getty Images.
Uzo Aduba in Sally Lapointe, 2017
Photo: Frazer Harrison/Getty Images.
Kerry Washington in Brandon Maxwell, 2016
Photo: Jon Kopaloff/FilmMagic.
Emilia Clarke in Atelier Versace, 2016
Photo: Steve Granitz/WireImage.
Kiernan Shipka in Dior Haute Couture, 2015
Photo: Frazer Harrison/Getty Images.
Lady Gaga in Brandon Maxwell, 2015
Photo: Barry King/Getty Images.
Kerry Washington in Prada, 2014
Photo: Jason Merritt/Getty Images.
Michelle Dockery in Prada, 2013
Photo: Gregg DeGuire/WireImage.
Lucy Liu in Atelier Versace, 2012
Photo: Jeffrey Mayer/WireImage.
Christina Hendricks in Johanna Johnson Couture, 2011
Photo: Gregg DeGuire/FilmMagic.
Drew Barrymore in Monique Lhuillier, 2009
Photo: Frazer Harrison/Getty Images.
Blake Lively in Versace, 2009
Photo: Jason Merritt/Getty Images.
Chloe Sevigny in Mizrahi, 2009
Photo: Frazer Harrison/Getty Images.
Olivia Wilde in Reem Acra, 2008
Photo: Steve Granitz/WireImage.
Sandra Oh in Bottega Veneta, 2007
Photo: Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic.
Halle Berry in Emanuel Ungaro, 2005
Photo: Mathew Imaging/FilmMagic.
Jennifer Aniston in Chanel, 2004
Photo: Jon Kopaloff/FilmMagic.
Jennifer Garner in Narciso Rodriguez, 2003
Photo: Chris Weeks/FilmMagic.
Sarah Jessica Parker in Chanel, 2003
Photo: Kevin Winter/Getty Images.
Oprah in Bradley Bayou, 2002
Photo: Paul Drinkwater/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal/Getty Images.
Jennifer Aniston in Christian Dior, 2002
Photo: Robert Mora/Getty Images.
Sarah Jessica Parker in Oscar de la Renta, 2000
Photo: Ron Galella, Ltd./Ron Galella Collection/Getty Images.
Like what you see? How about some more R29 goodness, right here?
The Best Red Carpet Looks From The 2023 Emmys
