The Red carpet is not just a signature look of each Academy Awards hosted by the iconic Dolby Theater in Los Angeles, it is a High Fashion show runway of the highest order. Though you do not see them, the buyers are watching, and the right dress being worn by the right celebrity can earn both designer and manufacturer millions in overnight post-Oscar sales.
For this year’s 98th Oscar, research shows that the top 10 fashion designers were Louis Vuitton, Chanel, Valentino, Givenchy, Yves, Saint Laurent, Dior, Thom Browne, Gucci, Zac Posen, and Gaurav Gupta. Except for Thom Brown and Gaurav Gupta, all of the other designers are based in France and Italy.
Thom is based in New York, and Guarav is based in India. Billions of dollars in sales are at stake, and the competition to get the biggest names to wear gowns is as fierce as it can get. The question to the ‘white elephant in the room,’ are up and coming designers getting a fair shot at access to opportunities to design for the rich and famous?
One of my favorite shows that my wife and I used to watch was “Fashion Police.” It was hosted by the iconic actress Joan Rivers. Everyone in the fashion industry usually braced themselves for her review after the Oscars were done. She herself walked the red carpet and did interviews with the stars. But they had better be wearing the right dress or a suit. Her comments were visceral, humorous, and raw at the same time.
The ratings for her show were through the roof. No one was off-limits to her seemingly omnipresent eyes. And when the Oscars were done, her cameras followed you to the beach, the mall, to your yacht or jet, to make sure that you were not breaking her fashion laws.
No responses yet