Shailene Woodley returned to the Emmys as a newly minted winner and walked straight into one of the night’s biggest fashion arguments.
The Paradise actress wore Balenciaga couture to the September 14 ceremony, pairing a plunging periwinkle halter top with heavily embellished gold trousers, burgundy opera gloves and a multicolored necklace. The Daily Mail, Nicki Swift, The Cut and Business Insider all put the look among the night’s misses.
Then came the Washington Post. Its style team named Woodley one of the 10 best-dressed stars of the ceremony, praising a look that other critics had described as confusing or overloaded.
Woodley was not the only star receiving opposite verdicts. Kristen Bell’s Alberta Ferretti dress went from a worst-dressed entry to a romantic red-carpet success depending on the outlet, while Meg Stalter’s full Emmy-statuette costume was treated as both a questionable fashion choice and one of the smartest jokes of the night.
Woodley’s Balenciaga Look Went From ‘Beyond Confusing’ to Best-Dressed
Fresh off her #Emmys win, Shailene Woodley is back and serving bold colors on the blue carpet. 💙✨ pic.twitter.com/t05qcnu3DG
— Entertainment Tonight (@etnow) September 14, 2026
Woodley’s outfit came from Balenciaga’s Fall 2026 Haute Couture collection under Pierpaolo Piccioli. InStyle described the separates as a periwinkle halter top and wide-leg trousers covered in gold crystals and sequins, finished with burgundy gloves and matching slingbacks.
The jewelry gave critics another element to consider. PEOPLE reported that Woodley wore the $98,000 Frida collar by Handle Only with Love, made with 13 pieces of hand-carved Venetian glass, 18-karat yellow gold and 3.08 carats of diamonds.
Nicki Swift disliked the combination of colors and pieces, while Business Insider argued that the gloves and necklace should have been removed and the top more fitted. The Cut put Woodley first in its worst-dressed section and called the styling “beyond confusing.”
The Washington Post saw the same outfit very differently. Woodley appeared on its 10 best-dressed list, with the paper’s style writers praising the unusual combination and the confidence required to wear it. Her appearance came eight days after she won Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series for playing Annie Clay on Paradise, the first Emmy of her career.
Derek Hough and Lisa Ann Walter Faced Less Disagreement
Derek Hough’s head-to-toe green suit turned up repeatedly among the negative reviews. The oversized double-breasted jacket came with matching trousers, shirt, tie and metallic green shoes. Nicki Swift compared the proportions to a zoot suit, while The Cut objected to the fit, color and styling. The Daily Mail also included Hough in its roundup of the night’s weaker looks.
Lisa Ann Walter had a similar problem with volume. The Abbott Elementary actress wore a black Christian Siriano gown with a ruched strapless bodice, flared skirt and enormous detached tulle sleeves. Business Insider thought the combination of dark fabric and sheer volume made the dress feel too heavy, while the Daily Mail also placed Walter among its fashion misses.
Not every response to Walter was completely negative. The Independent liked the fitted mermaid portion of the gown and the angel-and-devil contrast Walter created alongside longtime friend Elaine Hendrix, although it also suggested the dress would have worked better without the tulle sleeves.
Kristen Bell and Odessa A’zion Split Critics in Opposite Directions
Kristen Bell arrived in an Alberta Ferretti Resort 2027 slip dress with pale fabric, pink lace, ruffles and an asymmetrical draped detail over one shoulder. Nicki Swift compared the look to a damaged nightgown, while The Cut objected to the cape-like draping and placed Bell alongside Woodley and Hough in its worst-dressed section.
Marie Claire took the opposite approach, describing Bell’s look as romantic and ethereal. Stylist Nicole Chavez kept the jewelry delicate and the rest of the styling restrained around a dress already carrying lace, ruffles and asymmetry.
Odessa A’zion produced another split by reaching into the Jean Paul Gaultier archive. Her black velvet suit came from the designer’s Fall 1996 collection, with flared trousers, a plunging zip-front jacket and long tassels trailing toward the floor. Nicki Swift mocked the hanging strings, but W treated them as part of the appeal, noting that floor-length tassels, bondage references and unconventional cutouts were already built into Gaultier’s original collection.
Meg Stalter Came Dressed as the Award She Wanted to Win
Megan Stalter is literally an #Emmy tonight with Paul W. Downs. ⭐️ pic.twitter.com/VCc9sarfuE
— Television Academy (@TelevisionAcad) September 14, 2026
Meg Stalter skipped the gown entirely. The first-time Hacks nominee arrived covered in gold body paint, wearing metallic separates, a pair of enormous wings and the spherical atom prop needed to turn herself into a human version of the Emmy statuette.
The Daily Mail included Stalter among the evening’s questionable fashion choices, but several other outlets treated the costume as exactly the kind of red-carpet stunt she intended. Vogue covered the transformation as another entry in Stalter’s habit of bringing comedy onto awards-show carpets, while Variety declared that she had won the red carpet by dressing as the trophy.
The Cut technically placed her under its “weirdest” heading rather than best-dressed, but the write-up was complimentary, calling the stunt “excellent.” Paul W. Downs, her Hacks co-star and co-creator, accompanied her in a tuxedo after helping apply the gold body paint. The pair had already turned another 2026 awards carpet into a bit when they recreated Timothée Chalamet and Kylie Jenner’s matching orange looks at the Critics Choice Awards.
Lisa Rinna and Nicole Kidman Also Ended Up on Both Sides of the Fashion Divide
Lisa Rinna wore a black Lever Couture gown with sculptural sleeves, a deep neckline and a high slit. The Daily Mail treated the exaggerated shape as a miss, but The Cut put Rinna in its best-dressed section and praised the drama of the couture look. Even The Independent, which questioned her large necklace, was much warmer toward the gown itself.
Nicole Kidman’s Chanel look produced an equally direct contradiction. Her white dress featured a corseted bodice, feathered off-the-shoulder detailing and a shorter hem than the floor-length gowns common on the carpet. Business Insider included Kidman among its nine misses, arguing that the dress should have been longer and that her black pumps worked against it.
PEOPLE selected Kidman for its best-dressed roundup instead. She also appeared in the Los Angeles Times’ red-carpet fashion coverage, which singled out the feathered Chanel look during her first Emmys appearance in nine years.