The rivalry behind the Oscar red carpet

The domination of luxury brands

For an A-list actress to appear on the red carpet, it takes months of preparation and a professional team to back it up, according to AP. Hollywood stylist Tara Swennen, who has served many famous clients, including Kristen Stewart and Julie Bowen, revealed: "The Oscars is the most visible awards ceremony in the world , so when a star wears a designer's dress, it's like a huge advertising campaign for that design. So it's really worth it."

The 96th Academy Awards ceremony takes place on the evening of March 10, but Hollywood Boulevard has been blocked off for a week in advance as Valentino, Dior, Tiffany, Prada and other luxury brands prepare for the event. The Oscar week calendar begins in earnest on the evening of March 7 with a Louis Vuitton party. On the evening of March 9, Chanel will host a party at the Polo Lounge. Armani, Prada, Versace, Saint Laurent and even Philipp Plein will also host events ahead of the world's biggest film awards ceremony.

Then came the Oscars after-parties. Armand de Brignac, a wine brand owned by LVMH, hosted a reception at Chateau

Marmont. Gucci hosts a private party to compete with
Madonna and Guy Oseary. And many more parties big and small not listed.

Over the past few years, European luxury conglomerates have taken over the Oscars, according to Vogue. The conglomerates have started with jewelry and watch deals, and stars have started pointing their jewelry toward the cameras on the red carpet. Brand ambassador contracts also include clauses requiring stars to wear the brand’s products at the Oscars and other events.

Celebrity reps once focused on blockbuster movie deals but are now focusing on the terms of cosmetic deals at after-parties, the fashion magazine noted. It would be a breach of contract if Dior global ambassador Anya Taylor-Joy did not wear the brand to the Oscars on March 10.

Vogue writer Christina Binkley figuratively said that the entire bodies of prestigious award-winning stars are "divided" among fashion and beauty corporations. At the 2023 Oscar season, at Vanity Fair - the largest and oldest Oscar after-party - actress Riley Keough's earrings - Elvis Presley's granddaughter - were from the brand Boucheron; her body belonged to Celine with a sparkling dress and her face belonged to YSL Beauty. Clearly, the granddaughter of the legendary Elvis Presley was the biggest winner in the negotiation with the luxury giant Kering - LVMH.

When writer Christina Binkley asked Keith Baptista—co-founder of creative agency Prodject, which works regularly with Chanel, Gucci, and other clients, including on Oscar week events—what’s been new about the Oscars lately, he said, “I feel like brands have come and taken over Oscar week.”

Even the fiercely independent designer and entrepreneur Miuccia Prada acknowledges the benefits of the red carpet. About a decade ago, Christian Langbein, then the PR director for Prada North America, confided that getting Prada to care about what celebrities wore was a challenge. Without a set rule, she dressed Uma Thurman in a purple chiffon dress when she was nominated for a best supporting actress Oscar in 1995. She was also more interested in dressing an architect like Rem Koolhaas than Brad Pitt. “Miuccia didn’t care about the red carpet at the time,” Langbein said.

However, things changed in 2014 when Lupita Nyong'o wore a blue Prada gown to the Oscars, where she was nominated and won an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress for her role in 12 Years a Slave. Nyong'o's outfit was a hit, and Prada has been catering to red carpet stars ever since.

Actress Emma Stone wore a mint green dress and diamond necklace both by Louis Vuitton at the 96th Academy Awards. Photo: AFP

Not for everyone

The famous Vogue magazine recently published an article stating that the Oscar red carpet is a story about artists whose representatives have the best negotiating skills, not about fashion.

According to the reps Vogue spoke to, a Dior deal can be worth seven figures, but with most brands, it’s closer to $250,000 a year. But only a handful of celebrities are able to cash in on the benefits this way.

Sources say many young stars now expect to be paid to wear a designer, but only three in 10 actually have a paid contract. One stylist says it’s getting harder to convince celebrities to do things the traditional way: Borrow a dress or tuxedo to wear on the red carpet and then return it.

Because of the deals, we won’t see many independent fashion brands at the Oscars. Last year, LVMH’s brands dominated the red carpet, from Fendi, Tiffany, Berluti to Louis Vuitton, Givenchy, and Dior Couture. Kering and private equity firm Artémis had at least four brands on the red carpet. American labels have yet to gain that status, though Tom Ford, Tory Burch, David Yurman, and others have made appearances.

According to press release archives and a search of the 2022 and 2023 Oscars, writer Christina Binkley found that only two dresses that appeared on the red carpet were by independent designers, not backed by a major company. Both dresses were worn by actress Jessie Buckley. Designer Erdem Moralioglu, through the Erdem label, dressed Buckley in a tea-colored satin dress when the actress was nominated for Best Supporting Actress in 2022. Buckley wore a black lace dress by Rodarte at the 2023 Oscars.

It’s been a long time since Sharon Stone wore a Gap turtleneck and a Valentino dress to the 1996 Oscars. The event was famously an accident: Sharon Stone’s pink Vera Wang dress was run over by a FedEx driver, leaving tire marks on the hem. Today, Oscar dresses are flown to the United States from Paris, France, with stylists and tailors in tow.

Personal finance website

WalletHub analyzed the cost of the Oscars each year and estimated the average cost of a star’s red carpet outfit at $1.5 million, with the bulk of that going to jewelry. Cassandra Happe, the WalletHub analyst who compiled this year’s data, noted that there are hidden costs, such as sending a brand’s team from Paris to Los Angeles and how much the star’s contract costs.

Vogue writer Christina Binkley shared that one of her favorite things about the Oscars red carpet is that it shows the fashion style of the artists beyond their roles. Sharon Stone wore Gap, Joanne Woodward made her own green taffeta dress for the 1958 Oscars...

"Now I wonder if Miley Cyrus got paid to wear five outfits — including Gucci, Tom Ford and Martin Margiela — to the Grammys last month?" Christina Binkley shared.

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