On my feed, Nicole Byer was one of the earlier arrivals at the Emmys last night – and I knew even then, no matter who else showed up in what, they would have to be Zendaya levels of unreal to step to Nicole because MY GOD this Christian Siriano dress on her is everything a red carpet look should be.
As we have seen through the day, colour was a main style character at the Emmys. After a year of dialing it back, by necessity, these people who live in the spotlight wanted to preen in the spotlight again. With so much colour though, there’s the possibility of not standing out because everything is so much colour.
That wasn’t a problem for Nicole in purple. The purple of this dress is so sharp, so vivid, she was right to leave her makeup pretty neutral, to let the dress to all the popping. I love the boudoir energy of this look – jumping off the dress to the hair, which is tousled, kind of like a Playboy throwback, a gown that could become a negligee in a hurry. The sheer fabric also adds another layer of tease to it all… and she’s playing it up with her poses – those sweet smiles, those coy eyes…
Nicole is FEELING it. Which is, always, the most important ingredient to a winning red carpet moment: you have to be the first to buy into what you’re wearing, because if you can’t convince yourself, how can you convince me?
And you know how this entire look convinces people on a whole other tier? Nicole is proving that this is a silhouette that works for all body types. And it’s a silhouette she’s clearly enjoys because check her out at the Creative Arts Emmys last week:
There’s volume, there’s flounce, there’s skin, but it’s not body-con. Like the purple Siriano, it holds shape but it isn’t necessarily shapely, the way we conventionally define a shapely fit; this is sexy and sensual and stylish and all the things that make a best on the red carpet. Not just this carpet but the entire year – this one will hold up for a long, long, long time.
