11 examples of much better red carpet attire — for Lena Dunham, Lena Headey, Jessica Lange and more.
It wouldn't be a major awards ceremony's red carpet without a worst-dressed list now, would it? And this year's Emmys rose to the poorly-styled occasion.
You'd think a team of red carpet professionals could do better in just about all these circumstances — and you'd be right. UNLESS they all get together at a special, secret stylists' club meeting before each big awards ceremony and draw straws to see who'll dress their clients up all wrong (taking one for the team, basically) to prove the argument that styling is needed after all. It's a conspiracy theory and a paradox all in one, how exciting!
But however you slice it, many of the red carpet gowns were bad. Bad and/or boring. Below, 11 of the worst-rated looks from this year's Emmys ceremony, and our helpful suggestions of options that would have proved much more successful instead. Nobody wants to spend the Emmys crying quietly in a toilet stall while reading what all those meanies on Twitter are saying about your hemline, after all.
For accuracy's sake, we've also only considered the recent work of each look in question's designer. For example, all the options Lena Dunham really should have considered in place of that twee floral tablecloth of a dress are also by Prada.
Lena Headey
Headey wore a strange black lacy number by British designer Alessandra Rich — and while it's always exciting to see a rising designer's work showcased, in this instance the dress's balance of sheer and semi-sheer panels just didn't work. So here's a much better selection pulled from Rich's spring 2013 and fall 2013 collections (she'll present her spring 2014 designs in Paris next week).
There's shades of the Seven Kingdom's Queen Regent to be found here, as well as the patent white heels very similar to those Lena clearly enjoyed wearing on the red carpet herself. Please let's see someone in the white patchwork number; please also let's see someone in that fabulous magenta leopard print wrap.
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Lena Dunham
Now Prada's runway collections are generally not the most obvious red carpet fare, but that's exactly why they'd work for a quirky dresser like Dunham. (Disclaimer: Downton Abbey's Michelle Dockery, a more restrained mannequin, pulled off a simple color-blocked Prada gown very nicely too.)
From left to right in the runway images above: the slouchy layering from Prada's fall 2013 collection would suit Lena's "only here to make self-deprecatory tweets thxvm" attitude very nicely; on the far right it's fair to say no excuse should ever be needed to wear the sparkly rainbow bright dresses from the label's spring 2014 collection. Also, the pale pink floral number is here solely because we all need to know how Lena feels about those weird platform thong sock shoes.
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Zosia Mamet
Mamet's gown drew some of the night's harshest criticism, and perhaps unfairly. Really, it just needed to have been hemmed a little better and then it wouldn't have flopped and folded all despondent on the red carpet like an embittered millenial who'd rather be at home watching Hoarders.
What should be a whimsical print and fun fan pleating come off as dour and heavy. Honor's designs are almost always much frothier and playful — still bold, though, thanks to a sharp use of color and/or irreverent draping — and a lighter touch would be most welcome here. Also, A SMILE. (Bonus points: a SMIZE.)
Note: the suggested look second-from-left here is from Honor's fall 2013 collection, also worn on the carpet by Homeland's Morgan Saylor. Red carpet stylists have been known to hemorrhage counterfeit Chanel pearl necklaces when their clients' looks "overlap" in this way,however, so it might be a gown that's off the table. The others (resort 2014 and spring 2014 looks) are all still lovely, and fair game.
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