Emmys red carpet includes Issa Rae in revenge red

Tessa Thompson stunned in a bright, multicolored halter gown by Rosie Assoulin, Chris Sullivan represented in a dapper top hat, painted nails and purple bow tie while little Joe - Jeremy Maguire - from “Modern Family” - vamped in a purple cape Sunday on the Emmys Awards red carpet.

On one of fashion’s biggest glam nights, the 69th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles kicked off with a chill in the air and its usual eclectic collection of color and cuts for all, including white tuxedoes and classic sparkly golds, whites and black.

Sullivan, who plays Toby on NBC’s “This is Us,” said he decided on his headgear Saturday after spotting the hat in a shop and thinking: “This is happening.” He also sported a cane with a fancy carved white tip at the handle. Fellow cast member Susan Kelechi Watson shimmered in an off-the-shoulder ombre beaded gown by Cristina Ottaviano.

Presenter Issa Rae went bold in sexy, revenge red, a goddess custom number from Vera Wang Collection. It had bare shoulders and asymmetrical sleeves, a single ruffle down the back. Her HBO series, “Insecure,” was snubbed by the Emmys. Yvonne Strahovski of “The Handmaid’s Tale” also went with red, her gown a plunger she wore with a gold choker and her hair back in a slick bun. So did Sarah Hyland in a Zac Posen lace leaf motif gown with a cutout at the front. Nicole Kidman also wore red, her silver tie-collar dress by Calvin Klein by Appointment in a grenadine shade made of silk gazar, with a pleated bodice, accessorized by more than $2 million worth of Harry Winston jewels.

Speaking of Calvin Klein by Appointment, 13-year-old nominee Millie Bobby Brown - among the youngest Emmy nominees ever - looked cute as a button in a princess silk crepe and tulle dress. She wore no jewelry because who needs to when you’re 13 and Millie Bobby Brown?

And hot from her front-row cheerleading at Christian Siriano’s New York Fashion Week runway show was Leslie Jones, wearing one of Siriano’s creations in black with an illusion neck, heavy embellishment and a high slit.

While the ladies in red took over the carpet, feathers had a moment - on Tracee Ellis Ross in belted, silver Chanel Haute Couture, for instance, along with the gown worn by Zoe Kravitz, a Dior Haute Couture with a black bodice and shades of soft yellow, pink and red below the waist, her hair cropped and a silver choker around her neck.

Yara Shahidi offered something different, a custom Prada gown with bronze tulle flutter sleeves and green sequin floral embroidery all over. It plunged at the front in a V and was accented by a gold Swarovski crystal belt.

Marc Jacobs dressed Anna Faris in magenta, a deep V-neck with floral embroidery. And this isn’t your usual Ariel Winter, who went showgirl in double, daring slits on a backless, halter look of black and silver beads.

Erin Cunningham, fashion news director for Refinery29.com, was impressed by Thompson, among others.

“It felt really daring and really unexpected for a red carpet,” she said. “People normally play it safe.”