Emmy Awards Dresses From The Last 5 Years That Were Total Fashion Disasters

For those in the television industry, there's nothing quite like the Emmy Awards. It's during this ceremony that everyone from artists and techs are celebrated for their achievements in programming on basic networks, cable, and streaming services like Netflix and Hulu. As much as everyone likes to say it's just an honor to be nominated, the truth is that everyone wants to win and they want to look amazing when their name is called.

However, sometimes nailing a winning look can be just as difficult as going home with the Emmy. Unlike the Met Gala, where there's a theme to guide what one might wear, the dress code for the Emmy Awards are pretty much anything goes. While some celebrities might use this as an opportunity to take method dressing to the next level to promote a movie others play it safe by going the traditional awards-show route. 

But because not everyone can live their life in the public eye without the occasional style fail — except for Zendaya, of course — we've compiled a list of Emmy Awards dresses from the last five years that were total fashion disasters. Naturally, this says nothing about the talent of these individuals, but does prove that no one is perfect. From cosplaying "Where the Wild Things Are" to Barbie pink gone wrong, here are the dresses that left audiences scratching their heads.

For the 2021 Emmy Awards, Gillian Anderson wore a custom-made two-piece look by Chloé. Anderson was nominated for outstanding supporting actress in a drama series for her portrayal as Margaret Thatcher in "The Crown." Although Anderson won the award, her dress left much to be desired. While it was made of raw silk, it actually looked like it was burlap instead — not exactly a red carpet fabric — and the top had tassels, all of which were different in length and in the metallic pieces, that hung from it. Had Anderson been going to a less glitzy affair, like say, Burning Man, the dress could have worked. But since that wasn't the case, it just didn't.

As the face of Miu Miu, it makes sense that Emma Corrin would wear a look from the collection to the 2021 Emmy Awards, but this look was a strange one for such an event. Having been nominated for lead actress in "The Crown," Corrin wore a bonnet, a matching strapless dress, and fingerless, full-length gloves all in the new neutral shade of butter yellow. Corrin's very long black nails made it look like they were wearing claws, but closer inspection proved otherwise. On Instagram, Corrin called the ensemble "crucible realness," via Grazia, but we'd argue it's giving major "Where the Wild Things Are" energy instead. To no surprise, fans took to Twitter to share their thoughts, with one person tweeting, "It was kind of like shy pilgrim meets mad Scissorhands."

While cutout dresses would go on to be outdated for fall 2023, in 2022 they were still all the rage. However, we have reason to believe Julia Garner's 2022 Emmys dress may have contributed to the fad falling out of fashion. The garment featured a diamond cutout in the center that showcased the star's belly button, which seemed like a strange detail and took away from an otherwise structured gown. Although one fan suggested the cutout might have been a nod to a casino scene in "Ozark," the same fan also pointed out that Garner's character on the show would have declared the dressing f***ing ugly.

Let's be honest: Barbie pink can be a tough color to pull off. It becomes even more difficult when you try to make it work for an evening awards event, as Kaley Cuoco attempted to do with this custom Dolce & Gabbana three-dimensional tulle dress that was shaped like a mullet. While Cuoco declared it the "dreamiest bubblegum punk rock ballerina dress" in an Instagram post, not everyone agreed. W Magazine said Cuoco looked like she should have been on top of a funfetti cake and several sites, including Life and Style Mag and Global News had her on their worst dressed lists. Cuoco may have had a stunning style transformation since "The Big Bang Theory," but this is a fashion fail.

Megan Stalter attended her very first Emmy Awards in 2022 wearing this sheer red lace dress by Norma Kamali and it was a bit out of place. "We don't really go by the rules," Stalter told People in 2023 about she and her stylist Kat Typaldos. "It sounds really cliche, but we like to break the rules and wear stuff that we get excited about." It's one thing to break the rules, but it's another thing to wear something that doesn't fit right and may have worked better with more support in the bust.

Due to labor disputes, the 2023 Emmy Awards was held in January 2024 instead of its usual month of September. But despite a slightly chillier season — it's still Los Angeles, after all — that didn't stop celebrities from showing some skin. One of those celebs was Suki Waterhouse, who wore a baby-bump-revealing dress by Valentino. Although some outlets thought her dress, which had to be taken apart and redesigned for her bump, was a revelation, others disagreed. It just doesn't look very comfortable, and the plain bodice with the silly big bow on the front are lackluster in comparison to the gorgeous full skirt of the dress.

If Alex Borstein wanted a daring look for the 2023 Emmy Awards, she succeeded. But, as Business Insider pointed out, it's an outfit that looked more like an elaborate costume than something that should be worn on the red carpet. After all, it's definitely serving some sort of flamenco dancer meets show girl vibes. Borstein has never been very conventional in her fashion choices, having repurposed her wedding dress for the 2018 Emmy Awards.. But this look was a total disaster from head-to-toe, resulting in Borstein ending up on quite a few worst dressed lists that year.

While it's clear that Eiza Gonzalez was going for old Hollywood glamour with this dress and feathered coat (or large boa), it's an exhausted look combined with a strange bustline that had people talking in a not-so-great way. Cosmopolitan likened the bust of this Tamara Ralph dress to looking like Mickey Mouse and the Daily Mail UK declared Gonzalez's outfit an overall flop. If that weren't bad enough, Gonzalez's look was eerily similar to the ensemble Rita Ora was also wearing that night. In fact, the outfits was near-identical — pink feather boa included — except for the bust. Unlike Gonzalez, Ora opted for fuller coverage that didn't conjure up thoughts of any Disney characters.

When you take an actress like Carrie Coon who never misses a fashion mark and combine her with designer, Thom Browne, who also nails it every time and put them together, you expect a history-in-the-making look. But at the 2024 Emmy Awards that was not the case. Instead, this deconstructed gown by Thom Browne looked more like a construction site mess. Not only did the bodice look restricting on Coon, but the skirt of the dress was so busy that it took away from everything this look could have been: perfection. Cosmopolitan questioned Coon's intention behind the dress while calling it over-designed, while other outlets simply added it to their worst dressed list.