All Of The Best Looks From The ’90s Red Carpet At The Emmys, Just Because

Cannes was cancelled, premieres replaced with Zoom appearances, fashion weeks downscaled and February’s Oscars feel like forever ago – 2020 has left us all gasping for some much-needed glamour. Give us gowns! Give us diamonds! Give us red carpets, godammit!

Well, some good news and some bad news: tonight is the Emmy Awards (hooray) but it will be a strictly remote affair (still no red carpets then). But as this is one of the most important nights of the year for the small screen’s biggest and brightest, you can still expect to get a bit of that glamour hit. After all, following her knockout appearance in vintage John Galliano Dior at January’s SAG Awards, or for that matter, 30 years of knockout style, do you really think Jennifer Aniston – nominated for her role in The Morning Show - will be Zooming in in a tracksuit? No, us neither.

Aniston has form when it comes to knockout Emmys looks. Perhaps her most memorable was at the 1999 awards (the year to check out, a vintage Emmys red carpet) when she arrived arm in arm with then-husband Brad Pitt. Embracing her Cali-girl roots she gave upscale Hollywood glamour a lo-fi spin by finishing her bedazzled-bodice Randolph Duke dress with just-back-from-a-surf beachy waves.

2020 might have let us down, but the ’90s provide plenty of Emmys moments to coo over. The minimalist’s favourite decade, this was the era that the A-List proved your dress didn’t need to be big on faff, fuss and froth to make an impact: see Sarah Michelle Geller slaying a super-simple turquoise Vera Wang, Brandy in an embroidered floral dress, Sarah Jessica Parker in shimmering sherbert bias-cut Anna Molinari slip and Michelle Williams in a twinkly spaghetti-strap dress in 1999.

Speaking of Dawson’s Creek stars, Katie Holmes might be relatively newly-minted as a style icon (yes, yes, we all know about thatbradigan) but the look she wore to the 1999 Emmy’s – when she was just 19 – serves up some serious 2020 vibes. A white lace, capped sleeve dress it’s a little bit prairie, a little bit Jane Austen, a little bit bridal (all of which is a compliment – the white dresswas big news this summer). It could be new-season Brock Collection and we’d still love to see it on the red carpet today.

The ’90s mantra wasn’t only ‘keep it simple’, however. The decade also gave way to some of the Emmys more outre looks: from Cindy Crawford’s beret and bustier in 1992 to Fran Drescher’s mini skirt with floor-sweeping taffeta train and Halle Berry’s jazzy cropped top.

There is one look, however, which merges the best of both: a fearless spirit with a less-is-more confidence. That look was worn by Ally McBeal star Calista Flockhart in 1999. For the ceremony she served up a masterclass in waist-down dressing, offsetting a formal Ralph Lauren daffodil ball skirt with a simple white shirt, tied nonchalantly at the front to reveal a flash of midriff. Her hair was worn loose, her makeup minimal. It felt then, and still looks now, like a spunky, sparky choice and a reminder that the best performances are never overdone. Considering the men’s shirt has been something of a lockdown hero, for any actors that haven’t prepped their look for Sunday – this might just be the perfect last-minute solution.

The Best Of 90s Emmy Style: