Let’s talk about the red carpet tradition?

Hollywood and the Red Carpet match. A decades-old tradition that is an event in itself, arousing curiosity and unforgettable moments. After all, for millennia walking down a catwalk covered by a carpet – red – is something for royalty and stars.

Tradition says that the “first red carpet” came from 458 BC, in Greece, when the troubled king Agamemnon (the one who destroyed Troy to recover his former sister-in-law, Helena) upon returning from the battle was received by his wife, Clytemnestra with care. Special. Upon descending in Athens, he found a walkway covered with a crimson (red) carpet, which she extended for him to walk to the palace. According to legend, she would have said that the feet of a conqueror, victorious and King, could not have contact with common land. He was rightly suspicious because luxury was reserved for the Gods, but he was right. Times later the same Clytemnestra would assassinate him, but that is another story. At that moment, the red carpet was born.

With red’s association with VIPs and Celebrities, the show would obviously reach movie stars. In the 1920s, previews were already a party, and when the awards gained relevance, they also became a tradition.

The Oscar red carpet quickly became the most important of all, even more so as the ceremony began to be televised from the 1950s onwards and broadcasters realized that following the stars from the moment they arrived at the venue until they entered the theater helped the audience, because it was also the time to wave to the fans and give quick interviews. From 1966 on, television transmissions became color, yes, until the 1970s TV sets had more accessible options in black and white, and only a few transmitted images in color. In any case, the red carpet moment gained more glamor and became a major factor in the Oscar experience.

The association of fashion, famous designers, and Hollywood is more recent, however. Nicole Kidman is credited with being one of the pioneers in choosing a “Gallianno’s Dior“, in 1997, which is still iconic today. Before that, they were gala dresses, even less formal in the 1970s and 1980s, but still important. The piece worn by the actress caused a sensation and the demanding Joan Rivers, who specializes in covering the red carpet, did not like the color of the dress (green) but said that Nicole “overshadowed Tom Cruise“, her husband at the time and already one of biggest stars on the market. Melissa Rivers, who led Oscar coverage with Joan for E! defined the model as “the first true haute couture dress on the red carpet”. From then on, Nicole rarely made a misstep on the red carpets and the competition was fierce, both among the stars and the luxury brands.

By the way, the E! gained much prominence with its coverage of the Red Carpets, and is now an obligatory reference. As they did not have access to the broadcast, their reporting began to focus exclusively on the arrival of artists, which became known as pre-shows, always live. Joan Rivers commanded the – fierce – fashion critics, which led to the Fashion Police program, a regular weekly series that debuted in 2010. Hence the traditional question: “who are you wearing”, is almost a mantra of the event.

There are many looks that are considered red-carpet classics. Stars like Nicole Kidman and Cate Blanchett are eagerly awaited as they mix daring and tradition like few others. The pandemic years took away the moment a little, after all, circulating with masks or in public was difficult and even in 2022, with everything “normalized”, it was lukewarm. Something that 2023 already demonstrates to have been left behind.

If at the BAFTAs black and white was the biggest trend, at the SAG Awards we already had color and boldness. The biggest highlights were Zendaya, Cate Blanchett, and Amanda Seyfried, of course.

Amanda rocked a 1960s look with a silk Prada minidress and a long train, complete with spaghetti straps accented with tiny bows. Was beautiful. As for Zendaya‘s model (who changed the dress on the broadcast), it was pure “classic Hollywood”: a strapless pink silk bodice dress, dotted with 190 roses signed by Valentino.

Cate Blanchett rescued a feature (Armani, of course) from 2014 (which she had already repeated in 2018) and made adjustments for a new version in 2023. Michelle Yeoh was more daring and less unanimous with her Schiaparelli Haute Couture feature (some said it resembled fries), but I liked it. Dark tones follow the favorites of the year.