Cookie banner

This site uses cookies. Select "Block all non-essential cookies" to only allow cookies necessary to display content and enable core site features. Select "Accept all cookies" to also personalize your experience on the site with ads and partner content tailored to your interests, and to allow us to measure the effectiveness of our service.

To learn more, review our Cookie Policy, Privacy Notice and Terms of Use.

or
clock menu more-arrow no yes mobile

Filed under:

The Emmys Managed Tons of Gorgeous Dresses With Few Stupid Questions

#AskHerMore at work?

Reese Witherspoon at the 2017 Emmys. Photo: J. Merritt/Getty Images

Racked is no longer publishing. Thank you to everyone who read our work over the years. The archives will remain available here; for new stories, head over to Vox.com, where our staff is covering consumer culture for The Goods by Vox. You can also see what we’re up to by signing up here.

When Reese Witherspoon, Laura Dern, and Nicole Kidman took their turn answering questions for E!’s Giuliana Rancic on the 2017 Emmys red carpet, they looked radiant in an array of genuinely interesting and unique dresses, most notably Reese’s teal tuxedo jacket-like mini dress.

And yet Rancic restrained herself, asking questions limited mostly to the trio’s work on the excellent multi-nominated HBO show Big Little Lies. Not even a brief “Who are you wearing?” crossed G’s lips at the end of the interview, as it did throughout the night with other stars.

Call me overly analytical, but it seemed like #AskHerMore at work. Witherspoon has been the most prominent celebrity advocate for the #AskHerMore campaign, launched by The Representation Project to put pressure on journalists to ask female celebrities questions beyond their outfits (and beauty tips, and workout routines, and diets) in interviews.

A few years since launch, and its effects are already evident — and turns out, beautiful dresses and jewelry can still be appreciated without wasting precious interview minutes discussing them (and thanks to aggressive tweeting and press releases, those dresses’ designers are still widely known and mentioned across Twitter).

Here are just a few of the drop-dead stunning outfits (and, yes, the designer credits) that we loved on the Emmys red carpet — no vapid interview questions required.

Tessa Thompson in Rosie Assoulin at the 2017 Emmys
Tessa Thompson in Rosie Assoulin.
Photo: John Shearer/WireImage/Getty Images
Jessica Biel in Ralph and Russo Couture at the 2017 Emmys
Jessica Biel in Ralph and Russo Couture.
Photo: Frazer Harrison/Getty Images
Gabrielle Union in Zuhair Murad at the 2017 Emmys.
Gabrielle Union in Zuhair Murad.
Photo: Kevin Mazur/Getty Images
Sarah Paulson in Carolina Herrara at the 2017 Emmys.
Sarah Paulson in Carolina Herrara.
Photo: Frazer Harrison/Getty Images
Uzo Aduba in Sally LaPointe at the 2017 Emmys
Uzo Aduba in Sally LaPointe.
Photo: John Shearer/Getty Images
Reese Witherspoon at the 2017 Emmys
Reese Witherspoon in Stella McCartney.
Photo: Kevin Mazur/Getty Images
Viola Davis in Zac Posen at the 2017 Emmys
Viola Davis in Zac Posen.
Photo: Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic/Getty Images
Gina Rodriguez at the 2017 Emmys.
Gina Rodriguez in Naeem Khan.
Photo: Frazer Harrison/Getty Images
Zoe Kravitz in Christian Dior at the 2017 Emmys
Zoe Kravitz in Christian Dior.
Photo: J. Merritt/Getty Images
Issa Rae in Vera Wang at the 2017 Emmys
Issa Rae in Vera Wang.
Photo: Frazer Harrison/Getty Images
Yara Shahidi at the 2017 Emmys
Yara Shahidi.
Photo: Frazer Harrison/Getty Images
Tracee Ellis Ross in Chanel Haute Couture at the 2017 Emmys.
Tracee Ellis Ross in Chanel Haute Couture.
Photo: Frazer Harrison/Getty Images