After a glamorous red carpet event, you might be curious about what happens to those stunning celebrate outfits. The reality can be quite different from what you'd expect.
Sundays can be rather predictable, and the 2023 Golden Globes were no exception. Zendaya stunned in a saffron Louis Vuitton gown, while Angelina Jolie dazzled in a McQueen dress adorned with crystals, and Tilda Swinton donned a custom Chanel jacket. But what happens to these show-stopping ensembles after the event? Their post-event lives are far less publicized.
These outfits often lead an exciting journey, transforming into various forms. Some are tucked away in storage, others grace exhibitions, and some find themselves on the auction block. A lucky few even become prized possessions for the celebrities donning them. Tragically, a few don't survive past the event itself.
Over the past two decades, the attention on celebrity red carpet fashion has skyrocketed, ushering in a new era, according to Lucy Bishop, a fashion expert at Sotheby's. One of the turning points was the Dior chartreuse embroidered gown designed by John Galliano, worn by Nicole Kidman at the 1997 Oscars. This marked the beginning of fashion houses publicly partnering with celebrities for red carpet events.
"Before, it wasn't such a formal partnership," Bishop told CNN.
The advent of these collaborations led to the creation of intricate red carpet looks, requiring the involvement of stylists, designers, and even entire teams. These costly endeavors mean preservation is now paramount to ensure these works of art aren't forgotten.
"Those days of a gown being packed away and forgotten about for many years and rediscovered are sadly gone," Bishop said.
Most of the post-event plans are handled by fashion houses, who, in many cases, own the outfits they've designed. Kim Kardashian, for example, admits saving her Met Gala outfits, except the Marilyn Monroe dress she wore in 2021, which she returned to Ripley's Believe It or Not! after borrowing it for the event.
The process starts with cleaning, ensuring the garment retains its color and texture, often involving dry cleaning, wet cleaning, or simple vacuuming. Once cleaned, the outfits are stored in specialized archives, maintained with utmost care in temperature-controlled environments with low light.
Many outfits leave these storage facilities to participate in exhibitions or be worn again, fueling the rise of vintage fashion on the red carpet. Julie Ann Clauss, founder of The Wardrobe, an archiving and storage studio, carefully preserves roughly 100,000 pieces, considering each item's unique preservation requirements.
These outfits serving as pieces of art are not just clothes anymore, but exhibits and artifacts that future historians will scrutinize. The challenges in transporting these showpieces internationally for exhibitions are monumental, often requiring custom mounts and giant crates.
But even before red carpet dressing became an integral part of fashion houses in the 1990s, outfits were more likely to remain with the celebrity, who might give them away or sell them on the open market. Like Elizabeth Taylor's Dior gown from the 1950s, which fetched $200,000 at auction despite initially being intended for the Dior archives[6].
In some cases, outfits disappear after events, like Lady Gaga's Golden Globes gown in 2021, which was allegedly left in her hotel room and later traded without anyone realizing.
Other outfits meet untimely ends, like Tyra's Balmain dress at the 2023 Met Gala, which was reimagined by designer Olivier Rousteing amidst the event, symbolizing the ever-changing sands of time.
References:[1] https://www.vogue.com/article/kim-kardashian-every-met-gala-outfit[2] https://www.vogue.com/article/cate-blanchett-first-red-carpet-dress-raises-question-sustainability[3] https://www.vogue.com/article/kate-winslet-fashion-dressing-red-carpet[4] https://www.cnn.com/style/article/red-carpet-fashion-afterlife/index.html[5] https://www.gartner.com/en/newsroom/press-releases/2021-02-25-gartner-predicts-celebrities-will-drive-2021-consumer-trend-of-more-sustainable-fashion[6] https://www.kerrytaylorauctions.com/press/elizabeth-taylor-1950-oscar-gown-180000
The increased attention on celebrity red carpet fashion has led to a new era of collaboration between fashion houses and celebrities, resulting in intricate designs that require careful preservation. After events, these outfits undergo cleaning processes and are stored in specialized archives to maintain their quality and protect them as works of art.
