It’s Really Not Even About the Movies, Folks…

Deals are made over who is designing the dress for the biggest star in Hollywood. Who cares if the movie was biographical? We just want to see Zendaya and what her iconic wardrobe architect, Law Roach, has put her in to own this coveted carpet!

The Oscars took place on Sunday, but Hollywood Boulevard was blockaded for over a week to lay the red carpet that Valentino, Dior, Tiffany, Prada, LaQuan Smith, and other luxury labels traversed that evening. The calendar of Oscar-week parties began in earnest Thursday night with a Louis Vuitton fête. Saturday night belonged to Chanel at the Polo Lounge. Armani, Prada, Versace, Saint Laurent, Marc Jacobs, and even Philipp Plein hosted events leading up to the big evening.

Then came the afterparties. Armand de Brignac, an alcohol label owned by LVMH, hosted a coveted invite-only shindig with Jay-Z at Chateau Marmont. Marc Jacobs hosted a competing private party with Issa Rae, Aaron Pierre, Jamie Foxx, and Coco Jones. I’m sure I’m missing some.

Over the past few years, European luxury conglomerates have taken over the Academy Awards. It started with jewelry and watch contracts, as stars began angling the baubles they wore toward the cameras. Contracts for brand ambassadors now include clauses requiring them to wear the label at the Oscars, among other events. These days, talent agents who once focused on blockbuster movie deals are fussing over cosmetics brands’ contractual clauses for afterparties. It would likely be a breach of contract if Dior beauty ambassador Rihanna didn’t appear in a Dior gown on Sunday.

Award-winning thespians’ bodies are divvied up between fashion and beauty conglomerates. At last year’s Vanity Fair afterparty, Angela Bassett’s ears belonged to Boucheron; her body, to Celine, encased in a glimmering gown; and her face, to YSL Beauty, according to a source familiar with her contract. She was a brand trifecta.

Only a handful of celebrities are getting rich this way. A multi-year Dior contract can be worth seven figures, but for most labels, the payment is closer to $250,000 per year, according to an agent I spoke with. Still, many young stars now expect to be paid to wear designer looks, the agent says, and are disappointed to learn that only about three in 10 actually have paid contracts. But that’s enough to have set expectations that everyone should get one.

It’s getting harder, a stylist told me, to convince these celebrities to do things the old-fashioned way—to borrow a gown or tuxedo and return it. “No one’s doing that anymore!”

As a frequent guest on the red carpet, I can tell you: diamonds shimmer from miles away. It’s always a kick to see up close—the jewels, not the movie.

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