We Found Out Where Oscar Dresses Come From and What Happens to Them Right After the Ceremony (2024)

Celebrities start toget ready for this major event 3months prior tothe ceremony. Ateam that consists ofabeautician, afitness trainer, anutritionist, ahairdresser, amakeup artist, and astylist has tomake sure that the celebrity will look gorgeous.

The main aim ofthe stylist istonot just create achic look, but toact asamediator between the celebrity and the designer. The stylist has tofind out who else isgoing towear adress ofthe same brand and try toprevent asituation where 2people are attending the ceremony wearing the same outfit. Asarule, the stylist suggests several looks: the main one and the spare one that isused incase ofunforeseen circ*mstances. The stylist comes with their client tothe ceremony and isalways ready tooffer some help ifsomething bad happens with the clothes.

When acelebrity wears adress from acertain brand onthe red carpet, this isagreat advertisem*nt for this fashion brand. That’s why brands try tocooperate with celebrities topersuade them toattend the ceremony and the afterparty wearing their clothes. And there are several ways todothis.

Asarule, celebrities sign contracts with fashion brands. For example, Charlize Theron collaborates with Dior, and Cate Blanchett isthe face ofGiorgio Armani. These contracts state how many times and atwhich events acelebrity should wear anoutfit designed bythe brand. And all the dresses are unique and made especially for acertain celebrity.

So, who pays for all these clothes?

Well, the truth isthat the designers pay for them themselves. And they also pay celebrities towear these dresses tothe ceremony. The paychecks start at$150,000. Ifthe celebrity agrees towear the dress, they get alot ofmoney, the stylist gets acommission, and the fashion brand gets anadvertisem*nt.

There’s another option: ifthe designer and the celebrity are friends, they can dothis for free. Inthis case, acelebrity gets aunique dress and afashion brand gets free advertising. For example, the musician Jared Leto isfriends with Gucci director Alessandro Michele, sohewears the clothing from this brand toall ofthe important events heattends. The sensational “swan” dress, inwhich Björk came tothe Oscar ceremony in2001, was also the result ofher friendship with the designer Marian Pezhoski.

They don’t keep them anywhere. Despite the fact that many dresses are unique and are made for acertain celebrity, they are the property ofthe brand orthe designer. Celebrities have toreturn the clothes within 48hours. They rarely get these dresses asagift and there are several reasons for that:

• The price ofone dress starts from several hundred thousand dollars and goes uptomillions ofdollars. And this isway too expensive for agift. The estimated cost ofthe famous green dress that John Galliano made for Nicole Kidman isabout $2,000,000.
• The celebrity simply doesn’t need that dress. They won’t wear itasecond time and itwould occupy aplace intheir closet.

Large fashion brands save their dresses for their historical value. Some outfits are real masterpieces and they become iconic. Sometimes they’re shown atfashion exhibitions orare simply sold.

In2011, aGivenchy dress that belonged toAudrey Hepburn was sold atKerry Taylor for $130,000. Christian Dior’s red vintage dress that Natalie Portman wore, sold for aless impressive amount of$50,000. Some red carpet outfits end upinprivate collections.

Small brands often rent out their dresses. Inthe United States, it’s quite common torent anevening outfit that acelebrity wore tosome ceremony. And this option isavailable for both celebrities and ordinary people.

Ifyou liked some dress and want tohaveit, you can order its copy. Sometimes alot ofpeople like the same dress, sodesigners decide tostart its mass production.

• There’s aspecial person who works onthe red carpet. Their task istohold and straighten the tails ofthe dresses.
• Women who wear Valentino dresses win Oscars more often.
• In2003, afew hours before the ceremony, Salma Hayek’s dress got torn inthe buttock area. Reese Witherspoon rescued her and lent Salma her spare dress.

• In1998, Sharon Stone attended the ceremony wearing her husband’s white shirt and asatin skirt.
• The most expensive jewelry that has ever appeared onthe red carpet isLady Gaga’s vintage necklace. She wore ittothe Oscar ceremony in2019. The estimated cost ofthis piece ofjewelry ismore than $30million, and currently belongs toTiffany &Co.

Preview photo credit

Jim Smeal / BEImages / EAST NEWS