WHEN Jennifer Lawrence tripped on her way to accept her best actress Oscar
last year, her blush pink princess-like Dior Haute Couture gown was captured in
all its glory as the unscripted moment made ripples around the world.
That bonus air-time for a single dress at one of the world’s premier global
events is priceless for the likes of Dior, one of the strongest fashion houses
in the cutthroat marketplace that the Oscars red carpet is today.
Success on the red carpet can buy cachet that no advertising can – both for
designers and stars – and profits for luxury brands for years to come. With
stakes that high, the more established houses are raising their game and leaving
little room for newcomers to make a splash, like they might have a decade
ago.
The red carpet, which will be televised live before the March 2 Academy
Awards ceremony, presents “a great and free opportunity” for a designer to reach
an audience that expands beyond the fashion set, said Ariel Foxman, editor of
fashion magazine InStyle.
“It’s free marketing,” Foxman said. “Advertising dollars are so expensive,
and marketing budgets are so fractured these days with social media, digital
media, print media and television media, so it’s more valuable than ever.”
Sandra Bullock in the Marchesa dress she wore at the Academy Awards in 2010,
when she won the best actress Oscar for her role in The Blind Side.
One way of estimating the monetary benefits of having a standout dress on the
red carpet is to compare how much a brand would otherwise spend on commercial
advertising during the same time, said Milton Pedraza, chief executive officer
of the Luxury Group Institute, a consulting firm.
According to a report by Kantar Media released this week, the average cost of
a 30-second advertising spot during the 2013 Oscars was US$1.65mil (RM5.28mil).
The show was watched by 40.3 million viewers in the United States and several
hundred million more across the world.
For Lawrence’s 2013 Oscar acceptance speech and her accidental trip on the
stairs to the stage, she had more than 75 seconds of solo camera time. For a
commercial spot of the same duration at the same time, Dior would have had to
pay more than US$4mil (RM12.8mil). And this doesn’t include the time dedicated
to Lawrence and her gown on the pre-show televised red carpet.
For this year, Kantar Media estimates that a 30-second advertising spot will
cost brands an average of US$1.8mil (RM5.76mil) during the primetime show.
Lawrence, 23, who is nominated again this year in the best supporting actress
category for American Hustle, is a Dior brand ambassador, wearing the Paris
fashion house’s designs to all her public events.
While Christian Dior group has not disclosed how much it paid for its deal
with Lawrence and doesn’t discuss her impact on its sales, the high-end couture
label is on the rise. In 2013, couture’s profits totaled US$226mil (RM723.2mil),
up 26% from 2012.
While the Oscars has launched newcomer designers such as Olivier Theyskens,
worn by Madonna in 1998, and Elie Saab, donned by Halle Berry when she won best
actress in 2002, the big names in fashion don’t leave much room for new talent
anymore, said Hollywood fashion publicist Marilyn Heston.
Heston, the founder of publicity firm MHA Media whose success stories include
introducing Jimmy Choo shoes and Lebanese designer Saab to Hollywood, said the
Oscars red carpet is today dominated by established luxury brands.
“For young designers, finding their way into this world, it’s really
difficult,” Heston said. “It’s much more difficult to get successful placements
for the big events when the eyes of the world are watching, the stakes are
higher and there are more people in the game.”
With the red carpet in mind, many of the top fashion houses have created
capsule couture lines, such as Chanel Haute Couture, Atelier Versace, Armani
Prive and Gucci Premiere, which are the highest of the high end.
For British designer Georgina Chapman, co-founder of Marchesa, the red carpet
launched her then-unknown brand in 2004 when actress Renee Zellweger wore a red
and gold Marchesa dress to the premiere of Bridget Jones: The Edge Of
Reason.
“The next day, the dress was on the cover of every single newspaper and there
was Marchesa written as well. And it really hit home that this is what a red
carpet can do for a brand,” said Chapman, who is married to one of Hollywood’s
most powerful men, film producer Harvey Weinstein.
The pinnacle for Marchesa came in 2010 when Sandra Bullock won the best
actress Oscar wearing a gold sequined gown by the brand. Chapman said the dress
received 40 million mentions in media.
The ultimate coup for a designer is to dress a young rising star on the Oscar
red carpet, as fashion houses are trying to appeal to millennials who are likely
to become customers as they earn more money, Pedraza said.
From Carey Mulligan’s quirky Prada gown covered with miniature kitchen
utensils in 2010, Lawrence’s bold red form-fitting Calvin Klein in 2011, to
Rooney Mara’s white structured Givenchy gown offset by jet black hair in 2012,
each year one emerging actress is sure to make a fashion statement.
Lupita Nyong'o at the Bafta Awards in London recently.
Nyong'o at the 86th Oscar nominees' luncheon in Beverly Hills, California,
earlier this month.
This year, all eyes are on 12 Years A Slave best supporting actress nominee
Lupita Nyong’o, who has so far captivated fashion critics with her vibrant
colour choices.
From a vermillion Ralph Lauren column gown with a cape at the Golden Globes,
a turquoise figure-hugging Gucci dress with a floral detailed neckline at the
Screen Actor’s Guild Awards, to a jade Dior Haute Couture gown at the BAFTAs in
London, the 30-year-old actress has topped the best-dressed lists.
Nyong’o’s fashion hits have cast a spotlight on her stylist, newcomer Micaela
Erlanger, whose savvy picks have showcased the actress’ versatility, made her a
fashion muse almost overnight, and helped her land a campaign with luxury brand
Miu Miu.
“Having that standout moment or having that public image is really an
integral part of building someone’s persona,” said Erlanger.
As for what the Kenyan actress will wear on the Oscars red carpet, Erlanger
isn’t giving any clues. She has been scouring runways at this month’s fashion
presentations in New York and London in search of a standout dress.
“There should be an element of surprise, and that’s what keeps everyone
interested. I might go for the whimsy and unexpected but keep it modern and
classic at the same time,” the stylist teased.
