European fashion vs. Hollywood glamour at the 2021 Emmys

It was a tale of two cities, with the red carpet for this year’s Emmys stretching from London to Los Angeles with predictable fashion results.

Guests at the US ceremony adhered to Hollywood glamour, while the British outpost, populated by The Crown cast, indulged in unbridled European experimentation.

Well and truly in the lead, non-binary actor Emma Corrin sprinted out of Princess Diana’s looming shadow in a potentially restrained creation from Miuccia Prada’s label Miu Miu. On its own the monastic column dress in a biscuit shade was an example of understated chic, but paired with a cap that could have been stolen from the set of The Handmaid’s Tale and fingerless gloves with a deadly, claw-like manicure, it was startlingly original.

Emmy-winner and Corrin’s The Crown co-star Gillian Anderson also entered neutral territory, with a cropped ivory dress from Chloé designer Natacha Ramsay-Levi, but across the Atlantic the preference was for solid colours sampled from the rainbow spectrum, stopping off at fluorescent shades for Kaley Cuoco in Vera Wang and I May Destroy You’s Michaela Coel in cropped Christopher John Rogers.

American Crime Story’s Sarah Paulson in voluminous red Carolina Herrera with social-distance enforcing sleeves, Schitt’s Creek’s Dan Levy in a layered cobalt blue suit from Valentino and Black-ish actress Yara Shahidi in green Christian Dior with a New Look silhouette, most ably covered off the primary colours at ground zero in LA.

Emerging through the saturation was the welcome return of black outfits. For years black has been ignored, with stars fearing that they may be mistaken for headset wearing ushers or the waiter they once were.

Grey’s Anatomy veteran Ellen Pompeo in an Elie Saab jumpsuit with Renaissance shoulders and diamante details, WandaVision’s Kathryn Hahn in a Lanvin jumpsuit with a statement buckle stood out from the service staff. Mare of Easttown’s Kate Winslet ignored the jumpsuit memo and played safe in a tastefully plunging gown from awards fall-back Armani that provided the perfect backdrop for her trophy.