Introduction: A Night of Glamour at the 2022 Emmy Awards #
The 2022 Emmy Awards, held in Los Angeles, delivered exactly the kind of red carpet moment stylists and jewelers spend months preparing for. Television’s biggest names gathered to celebrate the year’s best acting, writing, and directing, but for anyone who tracks designer wardrobes as closely as awards categories, the real story played out on the carpet before the trophies were even handed out.
What stood out this year wasn’t one dominant silhouette. It was a split between two clear camps: maximalist sequins and embellishment on one side, architectural minimalism on the other. Jewelry took a back seat to construction and cut for most of the women’s looks, which is worth noting if you’re used to red carpets where a statement necklace does all the talking. Below, we break down the standout gowns, the accessories that did get airtime (including a Bvlgari choker worth a closer look), the menswear that quietly held its own, and where the divisive moments of the night landed.
Show-Stopping Gowns: The Women Who Owned the Red Carpet #
Sequins and Sculptural Metal #
Lily James arrived in a Versace chainmail gown, a piece that works because of engineering as much as glamour. Chainmail dresses are unforgiving on fit; they either drape like liquid metal or sit stiffly and read costume-like. James’s version fell into the first category, paired with pulled-back hair that kept the focus entirely on the dress’s movement.
Rachel Brosnahan chose Pamella Roland’s Fall 2022 collection, a fitted gown with a plunging neckline and embellished tulle appliqués. The tulle layering is the detail worth studying here: it softened what could have read as a very severe neckline and gave the piece texture under studio lighting, which flat sequin dresses often lack.
Archival Reworked and Custom Couture #
Zendaya’s custom Valentino ballgown, built from an archival design, was the night’s clearest lesson in restraint. Instead of adding embellishment to the gown itself, the statement moved entirely to the neck, a decision we’ll unpack in the jewelry section. It’s a styling approach worth remembering: one focal point, not three competing for attention.
Amanda Seyfried and Reese Witherspoon both wore sparkling Armani Privé evening gowns, and both leaned into the “celestial” end of embellishment, dense micro-crystal work that catches light without the bulk of larger sequins or paillettes.
Color and Personality Pieces #
Chrissy Teigen’s shimmering Naeem Khan dress paired with a coordinating clutch and minimal makeup, proving that fun and elegant aren’t mutually exclusive. Kaley Cuoco went pink in Dolce & Gabbana, a tulle silhouette with floral appliqués that read younger and more playful than the gowns around it. Jennifer Coolidge, fresh off one of the night’s most memorable speeches, wore Dolce & Gabbana in green and gold, a color combination that’s genuinely difficult to pull off on camera without looking costume-heavy, and she made it work through fit rather than flash.
Sheryl Lee Ralph made a notable choice by debuting a gown from Jamaican designer Brandon Blackwood, his first ever, styled with an intricately braided updo and a structured box bag. Supporting an emerging designer on a night this visible is a meaningful move, and one that added real texture to a carpet otherwise dominated by established European houses.
Melanie Lynskey and Laura Linney both wore Christian Siriano, a designer who consistently understands how to dress women outside the standard sample-size mold without compromising on structure or drama.
The Most Talked-About and Divisive Looks #
Not every choice landed the same way with everyone watching, and that’s worth acknowledging rather than glossing over. The chainmail texture on Lily James split opinion between “editorial and bold” and “too literal a metal reference” for an awards gown. Kaley Cuoco’s saturated pink also drew mixed reactions, some praised the color confidence, others felt it skewed younger than the formality of the event called for. These aren’t wardrobe failures, they’re the kind of risk-taking that makes a red carpet worth recapping instead of a uniform sea of black gowns. A red carpet with zero divisive looks is usually a red carpet nobody remembers a year later.
The Accessories and Jewelry That Elevated the Looks #
This is where the night got interesting for anyone who shops jewelry and handbags as seriously as gowns.
Zendaya’s ornate choker from Bvlgari was the single most discussed accessory of the evening, and for good reason. Set against a plain black archival Valentino gown, the piece did all the visual work a print or embellishment would normally do. Bvlgari’s Serpenti and Trombino lines have leaned into architectural gold and gemstone work for years, and this choker sat firmly in that tradition, dense, sculptural, unmistakably Roman in its design language rather than delicate or minimal.
Reese Witherspoon’s Tiffany & Co. choker did the opposite job. Against an already dense, celestial Armani Privé gown, the Tiffany piece stayed lower-key, more of a finishing touch than a focal point. That contrast between the Bvlgari and Tiffany choices is a useful case study: the same jewelry category, choker necklaces, can either dominate a look or quietly support it depending on how loud the garment already is.
Sheryl Lee Ralph’s structured box bag from Brandon Blackwood deserves its own mention. Box bags have had a strong resurgence on red carpets over the past two award seasons because they photograph as sculpture rather than accessory, and Ralph’s choice reinforced her overall support of an emerging designer’s full silhouette, bag included.
Chrissy Teigen’s coordinating clutch with her Naeem Khan dress was a more traditional approach, matching metallics rather than contrasting them, which is the safer and more universally wearable strategy if you’re taking style notes for your own wardrobe rather than a red carpet.
For our readers who follow authenticated handbags closely, the throughline across the night was clutches and box-style bags over shoulder bags or totes, which tracks with formalwear norms but is also a reminder that a well-chosen box bag or minaudière remains one of the most reliable ways to elevate a simple gown without competing with it.
Sharp and Understated: The Best Dressed Men #
Menswear on awards carpets rarely gets the column inches it deserves, but 2022 had a genuinely strong lineup worth breaking down properly.
Nicholas Hoult, nominated for The Great, wore a Dior creation with a distinct 1970s influence: flared trousers, a fitted black blazer, and a crisp white shirt underneath. The detail that pushed the look from “good suit” to “memorable outfit” was a necklace worn under the collar, a small styling choice that signaled personality without shouting for attention.
Andrew Garfield went in the opposite direction with a light-hued Zegna suit. Pale suiting is a harder needle to thread on camera than black or navy since it photographs flat under harsh lighting, but the clean tailoring carried it, proving that fit matters more than color risk when you’re working with a lighter palette.
Zedd’s Dolce & Gabbana suit, a deep purple with a crystal-embellished lapel brooch, was the boldest menswear choice of the night. Lapel brooches are having a real moment in men’s formalwear right now, functioning the way a statement necklace does for women, a single focal point that doesn’t require the wearer to abandon a classic suit silhouette to stand out.
Taken together, these three looks map out the current range of red carpet menswear: retro tailoring with a hidden detail (Hoult), quiet confidence in a harder color (Garfield), and maximalist color plus hardware (Zedd). If you’re shopping for a formal event and unsure how bold to go, this trio is a genuinely useful reference point for where your own risk tolerance sits.
Key Style Trends from the Night #
Sequins and embellishment were the loudest recurring element, but they weren’t the only story. A few patterns held across multiple looks:
- Metallic and crystal-dense fabrics (Versace, Armani Privé) replaced traditional sequin paillettes, giving a more fluid, less disco-ball finish.
- Minimal makeup paired with maximal gowns. Several of the night’s most embellished dresses, including Chrissy Teigen’s and Jennifer Coolidge’s, were styled with notably restrained makeup, letting the fabric carry the visual weight.
- Single-focal-point jewelry. Zendaya’s choker and Reese Witherspoon’s choker both worked because nothing else on the body competed with them.
- Color confidence outside black and navy. Green and gold, deep purple, and bubblegum pink all made strong showings, a shift from the safer monochrome palettes that dominated pandemic-era carpets.
Hair and Beauty: The Quiet Half of the Story #
Official hair and makeup credits weren’t consistently published across every look this cycle, and we’d rather flag that gap than guess at attributions we can’t verify. What was visible on camera, though, was a clear pattern: sleek, pulled-back styles (Lily James), glossy rather than matte skin, and a general pullback from heavy contour or bold lip color. The beauty story this year supported the clothes instead of competing with them, which tracks with the minimal-makeup, maximal-gown pattern above.
From the Red Carpet Line #
Press-line interviews this cycle stayed largely on-message, focused on collaboration with stylists and, in Sheryl Lee Ralph’s case, the significance of wearing an emerging designer’s debut gown on a night with this much visibility. We’re intentionally not attributing specific quotes here that we can’t verify against a primary transcript, but the general sentiment across interviews leaned toward comfort and personal meaning over pure spectacle, a shift worth watching on future carpets.
How to Get the Look: Shopping Authenticated Designer Pieces #
If any of these looks pushed you toward wanting a piece of the same houses, buying pre-owned is realistically the more accessible route than chasing runway pricing, but it comes with real authentication risk you should plan for.
A few grounded reference points, based on current pre-owned market behavior for these houses:
- Bvlgari jewelry (Serpenti, Trombino, and choker-style pieces): pre-owned prices for smaller pieces like bangles or pendant necklaces typically start around $1,500 to $3,000, with statement chokers and Serpenti pieces running well into five figures depending on gem content and gold weight.
- Tiffany & Co. chokers and necklaces: entry-level sterling silver pieces can be found pre-owned for a few hundred dollars, while gold and diamond pieces climb quickly past $2,000.
- Valentino and Dolce & Gabbana gowns: pre-owned formalwear from both houses regularly resells in the $800 to $3,000 range depending on embellishment and season.
- Structured box bags (in the spirit of Sheryl Lee Ralph’s Brandon Blackwood piece): comparable designer box bags from established houses generally start around $600 pre-owned and climb sharply with brand and hardware.
Three things matter more than price when buying secondhand versions of these categories:
- Hardware and stamping consistency. On Bvlgari and Valentino pieces specifically, mismatched engraving depth or font weight is one of the first things we check, and it’s the same principle we apply when authenticating [[[[Hermès hardware](/brands/hermes-history-origin-story/)](/buying-guides/signs-of-a-well-made-designer-purse/)](/brands/grace-kelly-hermes-kelly-bag-fashion-legacy/)](/news/hermes-mens-spring-2026-menswear-runway-recap/), consistency under close inspection is non-negotiable.
- Full documentation. A gown or jewelry piece with original tags, box, and purchase receipt will hold value and authenticate faster than one without.
- Third-party authentication before you buy, not after. This is the step most first-time luxury resale buyers skip, and it’s the one that actually protects you. Buying from a platform or seller that offers pre-purchase authentication is worth the extra step even if it slows down the transaction.
The honest downside of chasing red-carpet-adjacent pieces secondhand: the exact archival or custom pieces (like Zendaya’s reworked Valentino) will never be available on the resale market. What you’re buying is the same house, the same design language, not the literal garment. Set that expectation before you start searching.
Standout Gowns and Statement Dresses #
For readers scanning specifically for silhouette inspiration rather than a full recap, here’s the shortlist grouped by type:
- Metallic and chainmail: Lily James (Versace)
- Fitted with sheer/tulle detailing: Rachel Brosnahan (Pamella Roland)
- Archival couture, custom-reworked: Zendaya (Valentino)
- Celestial crystal embellishment: Amanda Seyfried and Reese Witherspoon (Armani Privé)
- Color-forward tulle and florals: Kaley Cuoco (Dolce & Gabbana)
- Bold color, minimal embellishment: Jennifer Coolidge (Dolce & Gabbana, green and gold)
- Debut and emerging-designer moment: Sheryl Lee Ralph (Brandon Blackwood)
- Structured, tailored dressing for non-sample sizes: Melanie Lynskey and Laura Linney (Christian Siriano)
- Metallic shimmer with matching accessories: Chrissy Teigen (Naeem Khan)
FAQ: Emmys 2022 Fashion #
Who was considered best dressed at the 2022 Emmys? There’s no single consensus pick, but Zendaya’s custom Valentino gown with the Bvlgari choker and Lily James’s Versace chainmail dress were among the most widely discussed looks, for very different reasons: restraint through a single jewelry focal point versus a fully committed textural statement.
Which designer dominated the red carpet? Dolce & Gabbana had the strongest multi-look presence, dressing Jennifer Coolidge, Kaley Cuoco, and Zedd across three very different color and silhouette choices. Armani Privé and Christian Siriano also had multiple looks on the carpet.
What jewelry brands were worn at the Emmys 2022? Bvlgari (Zendaya’s choker) and Tiffany & Co. (Reese Witherspoon’s choker) were the two most notable jewelry credits of the night, alongside Brandon Blackwood’s box bag styling for Sheryl Lee Ralph.
Were there any controversial or divisive looks? A few choices split opinion rather than landing as outright misses, Lily James’s chainmail texture and Kaley Cuoco’s saturated pink both drew mixed reactions, mostly around formality and literalness of the metallic reference rather than fit or craftsmanship.
Where can I shop pieces similar to red carpet looks? Pre-owned and authenticated resale platforms are the realistic entry point for houses like Bvlgari, Valentino, and Tiffany & Co. Expect to pay a fraction of retail, but budget the extra time for proper authentication checks, hardware, stamping, and documentation, before completing any purchase.
Was menswear a bigger story this year? Yes, relative to past Emmys cycles. Nicholas Hoult’s Dior suit, Andrew Garfield’s Zegna tailoring, and Zedd’s brooch-detailed Dolce & Gabbana look all showed real range, from retro tailoring to statement hardware, giving menswear more genuine variety than a straightforward black-tuxedo lineup.
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