The Oscars’ red carpet isn’t what it used to be. Thank goodness. Because what it used to be was a straight-up beauty contest. Never mind that this was a roster of talented, hard-working women with the resilience to achieve success against the impossible odds of Hollywood – come the Academy Awards, the pretty ladies were lined up Miss World-style to be judged on how hot they looked in a corset-boned gown, while the men got on with the important stuff, like collecting awards for best director.
The red carpet is now a spin-off entertainment industry in its own right. It is an effective platform to tell the world a story about who an actor is, as Lily Gladstone did, honouring her position as the first Native American nominee in her category with a dress co-designed by Gucci creative director Sabato De Sarno and Indigenous artist Joe Big Mountain, with traditional “quillwork” embroidery on the neckline and velvet cape. It can also be an extremely well paid side hustle: Emma Stone is thought to be paid around $2m a year by Louis Vuitton, which dresses her for all major appearances. This Oscars was not the finest hour for this particular partnership: Stone’s mint-green peplum gown made news for the wrong reasons when the zip broke as she walked to the stage to collect her statuette.
