Emmy Awards 2020: The Biggest (Virtual) Night in Television
The Emmys are a huge annual event where the entertainment industry comes together to look back at all the wonderful things that happened in television over the past year and is famously called “the biggest night in television.” There is a huge red carpet, making it a big event on the fashion calendar. Celebrities from all over the world come to partake, and interviews are conducted all night surrounded by big crowds of people. But now that we live in a world where social distancing is the new normal, how can such a huge spectacle take place? How has COVID-19 changed the biggest night in television? Luckily for us, the show must go on.
Tracee Ellis Ross in Alexandre Vauthier, Kerry Washington in Dolce and Gabbana, Reese Witherspoon in Louis Vuitton, Cynthia Erivo in Versace, Shira Haas in Chanel Couture, and Billy Porter in Ashi Studio.
Like any major event that took place after March 2020, the 72nd Emmy Awards were live streamed from various different platforms with shows that spanned different time slots. Originally, the night was supposed to start with a countdown to the red carpet hosted by E! Correspondents Brad Goreski and Nina Parker followed by a live stream of Live from the Red Carpet which would be hosted by Giuliana Rancic and Vivica A. Fox. Unfortunately right before the live stream began, Rancic and Fox shared with the public that they had both tested positive for COVID-19 and were going to be staying home. Thankfully, Goreski and Parker were able to extend their hosting duties seamlessly from the countdown until the actual red carpet coverage. The “red carpet” was actually multiple different digital streams. Celebrities gathered remotely from the comfort of their homes and backyards where they dressed up in their fanciest clothes, and no one let the lack of an actual setting dampen their Emmy plans. They took to Instagram and Twitter to share with the world their red carpet looks, and some even had a change of clothes for the actual virtual show where they video called when they would win an award or needed to present one.
The virtual red carpet was star studded with all of our favorite celebrities and designers. Zendaya started the night off with a bang after her stylist, Law Roach, shared a video of her on Instagram dressed in a gorgeous Christopher John Rogers dress from his most recent collection. She later changed into a custom Armani Prive couture gown in which she won her first ever Emmy for the leading drama actress role in Euphoria.
Many celebrities decided to transform their backyards into red carpets. Tracee Ellis Ross quite literally laid down a red carpet where she wore a stunning gold Alexandre Vauthier gown. Yara Shahidi wore Prada as she posed with the bamboo in her garden, and Reese Witherspoon wore Louis Vuitton as she shared on Instagram that she had the “shortest Emmy commute ever.” Witherspoon actually hosted a small gathering at her home where the attendees wore face masks, were seated at socially distanced tables, and best of all, the theme was a New Years celebration because according to her, “We're ready for this year to be over."
Other celebrities also shared their looks from small, private gatherings, just like the cast of Schitts Creek, who were dressed in Valentino and Thom Browne. One major virtual fashion moment of the night was Regina King in a Schiaparelli Couture dress, photographed on a rooftop in front of a simple white backdrop creating a perfect, instagrammable moment. Just like King, many celebrities understood that the 2020 Emmys night would be what they made it, so they hired professional photographers, full glam teams, and turned their living rooms into full functioning sets. The night was quickly filled with a mirage of Instagram posts and tweets as the stars shared with the world their finest linens and brightest jewels, all while sitting in their living rooms. Like any other award show, the 2020 Emmys was also a moment for celebrities to bring awareness to social issues, and they didn't miss a beat despite the show being virtual. Sandra Oh wore a lilac bomber jacket by Korean brand KORELIMITED that was embroidered with “Black lives are precious” in Korean. During the show, Regina King not only paid tribute to the late Ruth Bader Ginsburg, but also wore a shirt featuring Breonna Taylor who was a victim of police brutality.
Following the E! Coverage of their virtual red carpet, ABC News Network began to stream their 90 minute countdown to the Emmys which featured live interviews with nominees, predictions on this years winners, spotlight the unprecedented year for TV broadcasting, and revisit some of the best fashion moments from Emmys past. The show itself began with a live stream at 8 PM EST live from ABC News Network Headquarters in New York. The main show was hosted by Jimmy Kimmel who was on set with only a handful of other celebrities where he made plenty of pandemic jokes, socialized with cardboard cut outs of celebrities, and dispatched 130 cameras into the field to 20 cities and 10 countries to capture the nominees’ reactions. One of the most COVID-19 induced aspect of the night was the way that winners would receive their Emmy award statues. Interns drove all around California dressed in hazmat suits that had been customized to look like they were tuxedo suits. The interns would stay outside of any given celebrity’s home and wait for the announcement to be broadcasted live. If they won, the Emmy would be delivered, and if they didn’t the intern would wave and be on their way with the Emmy trophy. That’s something that I don’t think anyone could’ve predicted for the 72nd Emmys.
Overall, the Emmys tried their hardest and given all the obstacles that they had to get past, I think that they did a rather amazing job. As the entertainment and fashion industries maneuver their way through a world of uncertainty, we will be looking forward to all the new and innovative ways they make sure we still get our dose of celebrity content.