Why you’ll be seeing so much black on the red carpet
There’s going to a lot of black on display at the Golden Globes this weekend. Many celebrities are expected to wear black to the red carpet in solidarity with victims of sexual harassment and abuse. Many will also be passing on the money they would get for wearing designer jewelry and clothing to support the Time’s Up initiative. The initiative was started by more than 300 prominent female actors, writers and entertainment executives, and includes a legal defense fund for victims of sexual misconduct. Marketplace host Amy Scott spoke with Booth Moore, Style and Fashion News Director at The Hollywood Reporter, about the so-called “blackout.” The following is an edited transcript of their conversation.
Amy Scott: So how much black should we be expecting to see this weekend?
Booth Moore: I think it’s going to be a near blackout. Most every actress in Hollywood I think is going to be participating in this statement.
Scott: And you’ve written that it kind of changed the market for fashion this time around. Talk about the deal making that typically goes on before an awards ceremony.
Moore: Well the red carpet is really a multi-million dollar business and lots of celebrities get paid to wear gowns, or they get paid as part of deals that they have with brands to appear in their advertisements etc. And there’s also deal making around jewelry brands and we’re talking fees that can run into the six figures that actresses can get to wear diamond sparklers from the likes of Tiffany, De Beers and Luis Vuitton.
Scott: They don’t just get to wear the stuff, they actually get paid to do it?
Moore: They do occasionally get paid to do it. Yeah it’s definitely not every single person. But it can be quite lucrative as a revenue stream for actors and their management teams. But what we’re seeing this season, to start to happen, is that we’re seeing a couple of brands already who are offering to donate to the Time’s Up legal defense fund. Sachin & Babi is one out of New York and Prabal Gurung is another. And then some actresses like Shailene Woodley who are only wanting to work with partners who are agreeing to donate to the fund.
Scott: How much money are we talking about here? Do you have any sense of what this could be worth to the Time’s Up campaign?
Moore: Well if the big jewelry brands get on board those deals are the most lucrative and can be $500,000, $750,000. But the designers who are donating are smaller businesses, Prabal Gurung and Sachin & Babi are both independent. So, I would think that those would be in the tens of thousands of dollars.
Scott: Of course the Golden Globes are just the beginning of the awards season. Do you expect the trend to continue to the Oscars and other shows?
Moore: I don’t think we’re going to see a blackout continue to the other awards shows. In fact, I’ve heard that some people are actually going to be wearing the dresses, the colorful dresses that they may have worn to the Golden Globes to later award shows. But I do think we’re going to continue to see this trend of using the red carpet as a platform for good because it really follows in the greater consumer trend of conscientious spending. You know in the last year, we’ve seen people sort of protest with their dollars. And I think that this is an indication that Hollywood wants to make sure that their money is going to the best place as well.
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