Red Carpet Looks of Celebrities: From Iconic Moments to Secret Collections
A celebrity's outfit becomes a red-carpet photograph that splashes across social media and entertainment news whenever they step out onto a red carpet. Most of these images are the culmination of hours of work by stylists, designers, and fabric experts. Though these outfits might become icons in the public eye, their afterlife is far less documented. What happens to these beautiful creations once the cameras have stopped flashing and the awards ceremony has ended?
The red carpet has an incredibly diverse fate with outfits. Certain dresses end up at archives or in exhibitions while others come on auctions or directly to the shelves of collectors. Then again, on some rarest of cases even some dresses hardly get passed onto the morning day. For instance, when Zendaya attended the 2024 Met Gala in a vintage Givenchy gown, her stylist confirmed that she purchased the iconic black taffeta dress; it's just one of a growing number of celebrities buying their red carpet outfits. Kim Kardashian also mentions that she has kept all of her Met Gala dresses except for the famous Marilyn Monroe dress, which she returned to Ripley's after wearing it at the 2022 Met Gala.
After walking on the red carpet, the clothes have to be cleaned and stored. Over a period of time, these clothes acquire body oils, makeup, perfume, and hundreds of other compounds. According to Sarah Scaturro, head conservator for the Cleveland Museum of Art, for the most part, gowns are dry-cleaned. However, certain delicate pieces should be wet-cleaned or use other methods that include brushing and vacuuming.
Once cleaned, most top fashion houses keep such outfits in special facilities, either at their design houses or their own storage studios, similar to The Wardrobe, by Julie Ann Clauss. Clothes are given utmost care in the controlled environment of these facilities. Temperature, humidity, and light levels are controlled to ensure the persistence of the piece. The varieties of designs have different storage methods. Some are hanged, while others are placed in boxes. Fragile ones are placed on dress forms to prevent breakage.
Sometimes, people put these outfits on exhibition. For instance, one of the most famous red carpet outfits was displayed at Britain's Kensington Palace in 2024. This comprises Billie Eilish's Oscar de la Renta gown for the 2021 Met Gala, Billy Porter's "Sun God" costume from 2019, and the shining Peter Dundas gown that Beyoncé wore to the 2017 Grammys. Once worn, these pieces of fashion become museum-quality artifacts appreciated for their artistry and craftsmanship.
However, things did not always work out this way. Before the 1990s, quite a number of red carpet gowns were usually kept by celebrity wearers themselves, who were later able to sell them off or give away. One really famous example here is Elizabeth Taylor's Dior gown from the 1961 Oscars; she gave hers away and eventually sold it for $200,000 at auction. Today, while most are adroitly preserved, the odd one sometimes ends up in the marketplace inadvertently. Like Lady Gaga's periwinkle Valentino gown from the 2019 Golden Globes, which reportedly remained in her hotel room until a housekeeper found it and sold it at auction.
And occasionally, an evening not survives. Singer Tyla wore an extreme custom Balmain to the 2024 Met Gala. Immediately after the gala, designer Olivier Rousteing had to detach some extra fabric from the side of this floor-sweeping dress so Tyla could walk uninhibitedly after she had required four men to carry her up the museum's steps. This marked a landmark in the dress, ending its public journey through life, though it created something permanent in fashion.
With the increase in red carpet events, the fate of celebrity outfits has evolved from just being put away to a controlled process that ensures these legendary garments live on in different ways. Whether it is in an exhibition, auction, or archival preservation, these outfits are more than fashion; they are cultural artifacts inspiring and being admired long after the red carpet has been rolled up.
