Elie Saab, a design house known for couture gowns that sell at $20,000 and up, has built its brand by loaning dresses to celebrities in hopes they will wear them to high-profile events.
The brand hit the big time in 2002 when actress Halle Berry wore an Elie Saab gown as she accepted her Academy Award for best actress.
Now that Sunday’s Golden Globe Awards ceremony has been canceled amid a strike by film and TV writers — and with the prospect of other award-show cancellations — the fashion industry is having to consider a squeeze on its bottom line.
“It’s no longer just a writers’ strike,” says Billy Daley, vice president for global communications at the privately held Michael Kors (USA). “It’s an entertainment-industry issue, which means it’s a fashion issue because they are so intertwined.”
Some young designers who wanted Golden Globes exposure will swallow the expense of having aspired to red-carpet glory.
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After working for Bill Blass and Oscar de la Renta, 29-year-old designer Rubin Singer launched his own label in New York. He traveled to L.A. twice to network with stylists, and spent about $20,000 on dresses he hoped might be worn by stars. The cancellation quashed what could have been Singer’s big break, but he hopes the relationships he forged transcend a single red-carpet walk.
“If they like the clothes,” he says, “they’ll come back.”
Maximum exposure
Last year, 20 million people watched the Golden Globes telecastin 150 countries, according to the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, the organization that hosts the event. When a reporter asks a star on the red carpet to name her dress’ designer, the brand exposure is massive. [WSJ]