By next Monday morning, every morning show on TV will be buzzing about who wore what at the Oscars. Award shows are a parade of fabulous designer dresses, tuxedos and dripping diamond jewelry that will make any fashionista giddy with excitement to see. The Oscars are the Super Bowl of the fashion and entertainment industry. Each person looks gorgeous and perfect. The stars make it seem easy to look so beautiful, but behind that flawless look is an entourage of professional help, rows of designer gowns and a whole boatload of money spent.
One of the most important positions in their entourage is the celebrity’s stylist. This is the person in charge of creating their image for the night and coordinating all the activities needed to get the right dress and accessories. Usually this person has a longstanding relationship with the celeb and will have a good sense of what their client will be looking to wear come Oscar night.
This person will cost anywhere from $1,500 to $6,000 dollars a day, celebrity stylist Phillip Bloch said in a video interview with Thethread.com. They are paid by the day, due to their clients having so many events in a short period of time. Most celebrities also need more than one outfit on Oscar night, depending on the amount of after parties they decide to attend.
First, for the dress fitting, a stylist will usually bring at least 50-100 dresses for a big name client to see and try on. Each of these have been hunted down at fashion week by the stylist and ordered directly from the designer. The reason a stylist wants a look straight off the runway or custom made is so the dress is one of a kind. It would be their client’s worst nightmare, and their head, to see another star wearing the same dress.
Each dress can range anywhere from $5,000 to high-end, couture looks for more than $15,000. From these pieces, a few are chosen to be tailored to the client’s body, from which they can choose to wear to the Kodak theater.
No red carpet dress is complete without a stunning pair of heels to go with it. Two common phrases heard when it comes to the feet are “Jimmy Choo” and “Christian Louboutins.” These shoes are well worth the price tag of around $700 when being interviewed by many different entertainment channels and posing for the paparazzi.
Think all the stars do their own hair and make-up? I didn’t think so. Take Sam Leonardi, the hair stylist who has worked on celebrities like Lindsay Lohan, Cher and Anne Hathaway. He has clients dish out $2,000 – $4,000 for an award winning do. Usually the price depends on how high profile the actress is.
The week before, stars will make sure to prep their faces at spas such as Ole Henriksen Day Spa and The Four Seasons Hotel where facials will cost over $300. Add this in to the price of make-up, teeth whitening, spray tans, botox, chemical peels and laser touch ups they already pay for to get the perfect complexion.
Why go through all this effort? HDTV, which picks up any impurity, is becoming increasingly popular around the nation, and is putting even more pressure on stars to look flawless for their fans.
Surprisingly enough, with how much money celebrities are making, they usually pay for very little of what they actually wear. Who’s footing the bill? The gorgeous jewelry worn is usually rented or borrowed for free due to the valuable publicity the jewelers get for their pieces. Some of the dresses are also given to the celebrity, just to advertise the designer’s name and promote their lower priced perfumes, handbags and accessories.
Sometimes even the movie studios that work with the celebrity will fund the look to increase awareness of their upcoming film. They consider it a part of their marketing budget and even provide transport for the star to and from the theater. Honestly, whatever you see on that red carpet is just a publicity stunt to promote something so someone can make money. If celebrities did buy their entire look it could cost over $750,000 – much more than my parents’ home.
It looks like being under America’s magnifying glass comes with a hefty price tag. Lucky for me, come Sunday I will be watching it with my roommates, a bowl of popcorn and in my sweatpants without spending a penny.
Gina Jensen is a senior majoring in retail and is a wannabe Carrie Bradshaw. Send her fashion faux pas and column ideas to [email protected].
