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Getting dressed for a black-tie red carpet generally comes down to a single question: Do you play it safe with a simple, classic tux or try to find a way to mix it up, potentially to calamitous results? This year’s (second) Emmys red carpet saw plenty of no-frills tuxes, of course—shoutout Seth Meyers and Will Reeve especially for nailing theirs. But even more of Hollywood’s finest tried something slightly left of center: From Matty Matheson’s blush tailoring and ribbon tie to Taika Waititi proving you can absolutely wear white after Labor Day, menswear swerves populated the carpet left and right. One notable recurring element? Silk shirts of every variety, many of which made for our favorite looks of the night (others…less so!).
Silk shirts soften a suit or tuxedo’s vibe. They thumb their nose up at the rigidity of the dress code without actually disregarding it entirely. They’re louche. They’re playful. They’re hot. It makes all the sense in the world that they’re becoming a favorite of awards red carpets. 2024 isn’t the first year they’re making their presence known, either: Cillian Murphy made a big statement with silk shirts on the Oppenheimer press and awards run last year (including on the cover of this very magazine), and Timothée Chalamet—GQ’s most stylish man of 2023—has long sworn by them.
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This Emmys red carpet proved a testament to their worth—but also to the inherent risk of wearing one. Hiroyuki Sanada, who led Shogun to a historic night, displayed his ability to skew elegant with a deep navy (so much so it nearly seems violet) selection. Robert Downey Jr. went the same route and doubled down with a matching silk tie. Andrew Scott swerved in the other direction with a rakish ruffle-shirted Vivienne Westwood look. Walton Goggins kept his top mostly unbuttoned and looked all the hotter for it. Ditto for Jonathan Bailey in a drapey tux and cummerbund that matched the loose, unstructured fit of the shirt. RuPaul took the garment westward, using it to tie together a killer cowboy fit. And Bowen Yang may have had our favorite silk shirt effort of the night with a non-traditional red v-neck silk shirt from Bode with embroidery and tassels lining the hem. Big swing, big hit.
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A silk shirt isn’t a surefire ticket to the best-dressed list, though. Chiefest of the misses was host Dan Levy’s Loewe number, a selection from the label’s spring-summer 2025 collection that didn’t translate from the runway to the red carpet. (During the show itself, however, Levy looked great in a slew of strong-shouldered tuxes.) We’ll always respect a big risk but this one didn’t pay off, its sculptural neckline proving more distracting than daring.
If the last year has proven anything, it’s that the silk shirt isn’t going anywhere. These Emmys proved they’re here to stay, a deceptively versatile addition to red carpet wardrobes that can make a suit we’ve seen a hundred times before look brand new.
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