Mariska Hargitay's Emmys 2026 Host Looks: Red Monse on the Blue Carpet and Every Outfit Change Inside

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Key takeaways

• Mariska Hargitay hosted the 78th Emmy Awards on Monday, Sept. 14, 2026, live on NBC and Peacock. She arrived in a red plunging sequin gown by Monse, credited by both E! News and The Globe and Mail.
• She has already told us the color. Her Sept. 3 portrait posts were all gold sequins, captioned as a mock chat with the statuette.
• The carpet itself is blue this year, rolled out Thursday outside the Peacock Theater for NBC's 100th anniversary. That changes which gowns read best on camera.
• Inside the theater she kept changing: a ruched black gown with gold details, pink sequins, a second black gown, a pantsuit for a musical number. Hello! magazine's gallery runs to twelve outfits.

Quick answer — red at the door, then about a dozen changes. Hargitay walked the blue carpet on Sept. 14 in a plunging red sequin gown with a train, custom Monse, and a longer, fuller haircut in place of her bob. The gold she teased on Sept. 3 did not open the night. The closest gold-sequin gowns to that tease still run $55.99, $398 and $6,800.

Hosts are the one person on an awards night guaranteed to be on screen in more than one outfit. Hargitay is the first woman to host the Emmys since Jane Lynch in 2011, and she has been open about wanting the night to feel like a celebration rather than a roast. That usually means the wardrobe gets more airtime, not less.

When did Mariska Hargitay's host looks appear?

Hosts rarely walk the full carpet, but she did, and Hello! reported her daughter Amaya beside her in a matching red dress. Everything after that happened on stage. The full carpet schedule and every streaming option are in our Emmys carpet time guide, and the rest of the week's clothes-on-TV calendar sits in TV Fashion This Week.

What did she tease before the show?

On Sept. 3, NBC Insider rounded up a set of portrait-session photos Hargitay shared from her Emmys fittings. At least two gowns appear. The one she led with is gold and covered in sequins, and her caption imagined the statuette answering her question about color with a single word: "Obvi."

A portrait shoot is not a promise. Stylists often shoot a look for promotion and then save it, swap it, or move it to a later slot in the night. That is roughly what happened: the finish held, sequins from the first look on, but the color at the door was red. Gold stayed in the portraits.

Why is the carpet blue this year, and what does that do to the clothes?

On Thursday, Sept. 10, Hargitay and the show's executive producers unrolled the arrivals carpet outside the Peacock Theater at L.A. Live. It is blue, a nod to NBC turning 100 this year. The network has carried the Emmys 26 times.

That matters more than it sounds. Photographers shoot full-length on the carpet, so the floor ends up in almost every arrival picture. Here is how the common gown colors should sit against a saturated blue:

Which makes the gold tease look less like a whim and more like a plan. We covered what last year's carpet suggested about 2026 in what to wear while you watch. The blue floor is the new variable.

What has Hargitay worn to the Emmys before?

Her history is useful because it shows what she and her team keep coming back to: a defined waist, a long line, and something that catches light.

Siriano was the name we watched, and this time the arrival credit went to Monse instead. She has said publicly that he "has made me," and she presented him with an award at the Fashion Group International gala in 2022 wearing one of his cobalt suits. If you want the long version of how these loans and fittings work, read how TV wardrobes actually work.

She did the rounds the week before on Jimmy Kimmel Live, talking about practicing nominee names and asking Kimmel's wife, Molly McNearney, for hosting advice. The night-by-night late-night guest list is on Talk Show On Air.

What did Mariska Hargitay wear during the Emmys?

Each row has what the coverage described and a designer only where two outlets agree. The in-show looks are in the order Hello! magazine ran them.

The rest of the arrivals, including the lilac run that took the night, are on our Emmys best looks page. The Creative Arts winners, including Hargitay's two, are broken down in our costume Emmys roundup. Every carpet piece we publish lands in Red Carpet.

How do you get the gold-sequin look at three prices?

None of these is a gown she wore. They are the closest sold versions of the look she teased on Sept. 3: gold, fully sequined, floor length, with a slit or a structured bodice. Prices were checked on each brand's own site on Sept. 11, 2026, at 12:24 a.m. ET.

A note on fit: sequin gowns do not stretch, and the slit sits wherever your hip puts it. Size to your hips first and have the bodice taken in. More price-tier edits live in the Love Story slip dress at three prices.

What else is on TV this week for clothes?

The Emmys are done. Dancing with the Stars opened season 35 on Tuesday, Sept. 15, and its costumes were that week's second big wardrobe story; Reality On Air has the cast. The rehearsal gear on that show belongs to Activewear On Air. Daytime hosts recap the carpet on Tuesday morning. Thursday's Project Runway finale closed out the other big fashion night on TV that week.

Mariska Hargitay Emmys FAQ

Did Mariska Hargitay host the Emmys alone? Yes. She was the solo host of the 78th Emmy Awards, and the first woman to host since 2011.

What did Mariska Hargitay wear to the Emmys red carpet? A red plunging sequin gown with a train by Monse, on Sept. 14, 2026.

Why is the Emmys carpet blue in 2026? It honors NBC's 100th anniversary. The network airs the show this year.

Who designs Mariska Hargitay's Emmys dresses? Christian Siriano dressed her in 2022. In 2026 her arrival gown was custom Monse; the designers of her in-show changes had not been confirmed by two outlets as of Sept. 15, 12:30 a.m. ET.

Did Mariska Hargitay win an Emmy this year? Two, at the Creative Arts ceremony: directing and documentary special, both for My Mom Jayne. How to stream the late-night shows she visited without cable is on Talk Show On Air.

Sources

• E! News and The Globe and Mail — Monse credit for the arrival gown, Sept. 14, 2026. Yahoo — gown details and hair.
• Hello! — in-show outfit changes and Amaya's matching dress.
• NBC Insider — gold sequin portrait tease, Sept. 3, 2026.
• Deadline and Just Jared — blue carpet rollout and skirt suit, Sept. 10, 2026.
• Deadline and TV Insider — hosting announcement, first woman since 2011.
• Hello! — Creative Arts gown and wins.
• Bravo and Tom + Lorenzo — 2022 Siriano gown. AOL — 2025 velvet corset gown.
• Prices: Flolae, Mac Duggal, Christian Siriano, checked Sept. 11, 2026, 12:24 a.m. ET.