There are some award show looks that set the bar for all to follow. We’ll never forget Björk’s swan dress, when Rihanna wore thousands of Swarovski crystals and not much else, nor that Jennifer Lopez’s plunging Versace dress was the reason Google Images was invented.
During the endless parade of awards shows each year, we find ourselves wondering: Who delivered ingenue energy á la Gwyneth Paltrow in her bubblegum pink Ralph Lauren dress, popped a leg like Angelina Jolie, or rocked a suit like Celine Dion?
So, we’ve decided to pay homage to some of the most legendary red carpet moments of all time with the Vogue Awards, a new series in which we attempt to answer those very questions. While the 2026 Emmys admittedly weren’t the most thrilling carpet in recent memory (sorry!), some attendees definitely earned their accolades.
Some were shoo-ins: Who else but Meg Stalter could take home the Björk Award for Most Avant-Garde? And, really, was anyone ever going to beat Zendaya in the Gwyneth Paltrow Award for Leading Lady Style category? But there were also surprises: Nicole Kidman’s thigh-high slit brought Angeline Jolie to mind, while Selena Gomez ditched her Old Hollywood glamour for a va-va-voom showgirl moment that would make Cher proud.
Here, we combed the 2026 Emmys red carpet to see who delivered the most memorable looks of the evening.
The Björk Award for Most Avant-Garde
Meg Stalter
The Jennifer Lopez Award for Biggest Bombshell
The entire cast of Baywatch
The Gwyneth Paltrow Award for Leading Lady Style
Zendaya in Prada
The Cate Blanchett Sustainability Award for Best Vintage or Archival Fashion
Odessa A’Zion in fall 1996 Jean Paul Gaultier
The Nicole Kidman Award for Breakout Style Star
Lukita Maxwell in Louis Vuitton
The Cher Award for Best Showgirl Moment
Selena Gomez in Louis Vuitton
The Celine Dion Award for Best Suiting
Louisa Jacobson in Tom Ford
The Angelina Jolie Award for Best Slit
Nicole Kidman in Chanel
The Kristen Stewart Award for Red Carpet Rulebreaker
Shailene Woodley in Balenciaga