Emmys 2026: Zendaya Rules the Red Carpet Power Rankings

Ratings dipped roughly 10 percent for the 78th Primetime Emmy Awards, which drew 6.8 million viewers to the event at the Peacock Theater in downtown Los Angeles, vs. a broadcast audience of 7.59 million for the 2025 event. But you wouldn’t know it from the social-media conversations about the red-carpet style seen on television’s biggest night this year, as influence statistics across fashion categories budged hardly at all — and in a few cases, the numbers topped last year’s.

Indeed, for Emmys 2026, The Hollywood Reporter‘s Red Carpet Power Rankings prove not only that fashion continues its dominance in awards show conversations, regardless of audience size, but also that the appearance — or absence — of a single star just might make the biggest impact. More on that in a moment.

Now in their third year, the Red Carpet Power Rankings continue as an exclusive partnership between The Hollywood Reporter and data firm Launchmetrics, measuring earned engagement among luxury brands seen at the entertainment industry’s biggest awards shows, plus May’s Met Gala. Recognized as the industry standard for modern brand measurement, Launchmetrics employs its proprietary Media Impact Value (MIV) algorithm to analyze and rank both brands and stars, spanning five categories: fashion, watches and jewelry, accessories, and finally top five women and top five men at each event. The Launchmetrics MIV algorithm assigns a monetary value to every post, social media interaction and editorial story to determine a brand’s influence and earned engagement.

How does that translate to Emmys 2026? Overall the engagement numbers don’t come close to this year’s Oscars or Met Gala — but they’re just as valid in measuring the power of a star and his or her impact on what they choose to wear. Let’s dig into the results.

Top 10 Fashion Brands: Three Labels and the Women Who Wear Them

Yes, a well-curated selection of men wore Louis Vuitton and Prada at Monday’s Emmy Awards: Shawn Hatosy, Paul Anthony Kelly and Charles Melton were seen in looks by the former, while Adam Brody, Jon Hamm and Marcello Hernandez wore suits by the latter. But it was really the women of Emmys 2026 who were instrumental in vaulting those two labels into the top spots.

For Louis Vuitton, that meant Selena Gomez, a golden girl in a sequin-embellished strapless gown, and Katherine LaNasa in light blue chiffon, as well as Emmy winner Rhea Seehorn in a crimson draped gown, all looks that garnered a wealth of social-media attention and earned the iconic label an MIV of $7.8 million. Prada finished a close second with an MIV of $7.7 million, a number that should be credited largely to the appearance of one woman: Zendaya, nominated for best actress in a drama for the final season of Euphoria, and roundly agreed by fashion pundits to be the night’s best-dressed woman. While the immensely popular star did not post her Emmys look to her own Instagram account, her stylist, Law Roach, did include a short video on his own Instagram, in which he is seen adjusting Zendaya’s train on the carpet. That post earned more than 252,000 likes.

Like Prada, Chanel dressed four stars, all of them women, a strategy that earned them a solid third-place finish with $7.2 million in MIV: Nicole Kidman in a white mid-calf dress with a neckline bedecked with white silk flowers, Sarah Pidgeon in a lilac silk bias-cut gown with draped neckline, Ayo Edebiri in a blue silk faille dress with contrasting back bow in vermillion, and Youn Yuh-jung, nominated for best supporting actress for her role in Beef, wearing a white silk gown embellished with alabaster flowers.

Among the standouts rounding out the top-five fashion brands, Sarah Snook was the epitome of sleek elegance in a butter-yellow Balenciaga gown, while Florence Pugh earned kudos for her lilac-hued corset gown by Vivienne Westwood. But it’s another Westwood gown that continued to inspire comments four days post-Emmys: Evie McGee Colbert, wife of Stephen Colbert, host and newly crowned Emmy winner of the now-shuttered Late Show. In her blue plaid Vivienne Westwood corset gown with asymmetrical draping on the skirt, #eviecolbert became a popular hashtag once she appeared on the red carpet, with novelist Pamela Terry among those singing her style praises: “Hands down, my favorite dress from the Emmys last night,” Terry posted to her 251,000 followers.

Top Five Women: Was There Any Question?

Without question, Zendaya’s first-place finish is the least surprising result of the Red Carpet Power Rankings for Emmys 2026. Arriving not long before the broadcast was due to kick off, the star created an instant frenzy on the carpet and on social media alike in a custom belted Prada gown that checked all the boxes. From its stunning construction of lush crystal beading over pink tulle to an exquisite fit, a pixie cut that also evoked thoughts of an iconic look worn by Halle Berry, and finally her accessories: a pearl ring and matching earrings by Mikimoto and a diamond-embellished Rolex timepiece, an element of her look since signing as the watch brand’s latest ambassador in October 2025. It’s little wonder she topped many of the night’s best-dressed lists and came in first in the Power Rankings, earning an MIV of $6.7 million.

Gomez is likewise unsurprising in second place — her appearance in gold Louis Vuitton, a gown that inspired a desire to examine its handwork, dominated social media and captured an earned engagement of $5.6 million. Kidman and Pidgeon in their respective Chanel dresses earned the third and fourth positions, at $3.9 and $2.7 million in MIV, respectively, while Pugh rounded out the top five in Vivienne Westwood, which garnered an MIV of $2.3 million.

Top Five Men: Colman’s Style Game is on Point

At an event during New York Fashion Week, Colman Domingo noted that he loved working with Valentino and creative director Alessandro Michele because of the artistry and whimsy the designer brings to his work. That was equally true of the suit Michele put together for the actor to wear at the Emmy awards, an homage to his nominated role in Netflix’s The Four Seasons. Domingo’s status as a style star continues its streak, with the Emmy winner (for Euphoria in 2022) capturing the top spot among men on the carpet, earning an MIV of $1.3 million.

Among the top-five looks worn by men, the surprise seems to be the most traditional look, a custom Louis Vuitton single-breasted tuxedo in a deep chocolate brown — ultimately it was a winning combination with the Love Story actor, propelling him into second place with an MIV of $562,000. Noah Wyle, earning his second Emmy in a custom Brunello Cucinelli tuxedo with a single-breasted beige jacket, captured the third position, while Adam Brody in Prada and Oscar Isaac in a white Celine suit rounded out the list. Notably, Dan Levy, also in Celine, was just shy of the cutoff, though roundly agreed to be among the night’s best-dressed men.

But once again women ruled the red carpet, dominating the style conversations. Consider that the top five women on the carpet totaled $21.2 million, while top-five men earned $3.409 million. Also, that $21.2 million this year exceeds last year’s total by exactly $1 million, which we’re going to chalk up to the Zendaya factor.

Top 10 Watch & Jewelry Brands: Diamonds, Pearls and Pink Gold Catch the Eye

Zendaya and Ayo Edebiri both chose Mikimoto for the Emmys 2026 carpet and can be credited with the legendary pearl house’s second-place finish among top watch and jewelry brands. But Tiffany & Co. at the number-one spot can be credited to a variety of stars — including The Gilded Age‘s Louisa Jacobson, as well as Emma D’Arcy and Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, but it was Gomez who once again captured the lion’s share of the spotlight, pairing her gold gown with a variety of pieces that honor some of Tiffany & Co.’s most iconic design codes, from her Bird on a Rock Feathers earrings and bracelet, crafted in platinum and 18-karat yellow gold and embellished with diamonds, to a trio of rings that included the jewelry house’s Sixteen Stone by Tiffany & Co. design, embellished with 16 round brilliant diamonds and likewise set in platinum and yellow gold. Gomez’s look is the key reason the jeweler earned a first-place finish with an MIV of $2.2 million.

Pugh signed on as a Bulgari brand ambassador in May, and it’s already proven to be a smart decision. The actress was the sole star wearing jewels by the famed Italian house, including a stunning high-jewelry necklace showcasing morganites, green tourmalines and diamonds set in 18-karat pink gold, ultimately a beautiful pairing with her lilac-hued Vivienne Westwood gown. The result: a third-place finish and an MIV of $1.029 million.

Top Five Accessory Brands: A Clutch Strategy Overtakes Footwear

Jimmy Choo and Christian Louboutin tend to dominate the top spots among accessories seen at awards shows, but not this time. Tyler Ellis, a designer who was born and raised in Los Angeles and produces her eponymous collection of handbags and evening bags out of Florence, Italy, took the first-place finish ahead with an MIV of $428,000. Ellis provided her chic evening clutches to roughly a dozen stars, stylish women that included Allison Janney, Jean Smart, Olivia Munn, Carrie Coon and Awkwafina.

Louboutin’s second-place finish, with an MIV just under $300,000, is largely due to the number of stylish men who wore his evening shoes, a roster that included Paul W. Downs, Alan Cumming and Chris Perfetti. Jimmy Choo’s shoes, meanwhile, were seen on Kaley Cuoco, Amanda Peet, Sarah Pidgeon and others, resulting in an MIV of $167,000. Slipping in ahead of Choo was Stuart Weitzman, thanks to the fact that his evening shoes were worn by host Mariska Hargitay. Finally, Gianvito Rossi nabbed fifth place, largely the result of a fab look worn by Dakota Fanning, which consisted of a Carolina Herrera dress and Swarovski jewels — and luckily for the shoe designer, a dress length that allowed her Manhattan strappy sandals to be easily seen. The result was earned engagement totaling $141,000.

Next up in high-wattage red carpets: The 2026 MTV Video Music Awards, which takes place on Sunday, Sept. 27 and will air live, also at L.A.’s Peacock Theater.