(Bloomberg) – On one occasion, designer Bailey Moon was preparing to wear a client for a big event, when, moments before she leaves the hotel, a piece of tile, used as a ornament, fell. Having dealt with hundreds of situations like this in his career, Bailey quickly launched into action with a little hot glue.
The problem is that although he managed to replace the piece in the dress, he also ended up gluing his clothes. Thus, he found himself in an elegant car with the actress, on his way to the event, desperately trying to detach from the dress.
Suffice it to say that he managed to break free of the client’s clothes before she stepped on the red carpet, but did not like the moments of slight panic at all. “My goal is to avoid this chaotic atmosphere,” says Moon, who wears actors like Cristin Milioti, Diane Lane and the couple Rebecca Hall and Morgan Spector. He also works outside the entertainment industry, notably with Dr. Jill Biden and other members of the Biden family. “I know some designers who love the adrenaline of ‘we have five minutes and we need to sew the dress’. I refuse to do that. ”
“But,” he added, “things don’t always come out as planned.”
Welcome to the high-risk world and sometimes agitated. Although the result is arguably glamorous, the way there may be anything but that. Behind each million dollar necklace, perfectly tailored and tuxedo dressed, there is a lot of hard work: countless emails and phone calls to coordinate labyrinthine logistics, hours driving for Los Angeles or New York, cash negotiations and coveted unique dresses, numerous national (or international) flights and excessive transportation of clothing that seems to seem impossible. And as Hollywood’s biggest night approaches, the pressure increases further.
“If you have a nominee, the situation goes crazy,” says Michael Fisher, whose customers include Jake Gyllenhaal, Oscar Isaac, Bowen Yang and Sebastian Stan, who is nominated for the Oscar for best actor. “If you have several, it’s even more insane.” Nowadays, according to him, it is not just Oscar or Emmy itself, but the entire sequence of events that lead to them. “All lunch, morning cafes, teas, festivals, questions and answers sessions. You go through a real intensive while they campaign, and then, since the nominations start to be confirmed, it is almost like restarting, going back to zero and starting all over again. ”
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“I already cried? Yes, ”says one designer who prefers not to be identified. “I’ve been cursed? Yes. It is very rare to have a really crazy drama, but I definitely have gone through times when there was a stack of haute couture on the floor of my studio, and I looked around and thought, ‘What is this life?’
Wearing celebrities has become a kind of rising industry. , but, like the actors with whom they work, their gains can vary dramatically depending on the customer or the project. For example, it is common for designers to be paid for “look” when wearing an actor to the press cycle of a movie or TV show, including debuts, interviews and talk shows, a rate that usually ranges from $ 1,000 to $ 5,000. These rates are often paid, at least in part, by the studio responsible for the project, although sometimes actors subsidize them. In some cases, agreements are made for whole press cycles, or customers keep designers in a monthly contract.
For high profile events – such as Oscars, Emmys, Grammys and Golden Globes – First -class designers who wear prominent talents can earn in the five -digit range, with rates of rates over $ 100,000 circulating. Brands also often pay the talents to wear their clothes on these occasions – something that can generate fees as high as six low digits – an arrangement that extends to jewelry and, for men, to the lucrative luxury clock business.
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“The relationship between fashion and entertainment is more important than ever,” says Moon. “That’s why UTA [United Talent Agency] and WME [William Morris Endeavor] Now they have fashion divisions. ” This recent movement of the main talent agencies to create specific fashion departments aims mainly to represent stylist, photographers and designers such as Loewe Jonathan Anderson, who created the costumes for Challengers and Queer from last year (both directed by Luca Guadagnino), and then wore the men’s stars for their bustling press tours. But these agencies can also help broker agreements between brands and talents. In addition, agencies can help designers and customers turn these red carpet relationships into something more lasting (and financially lucrative), such as handy frames or brand ambassador papers-think about the Harris Dickinson Association starring in this season’s Prada campaign. These agreements are, in many ways, the most desirable of all and can, in the best circumstances, yield seven -digit payments.
Although the awards season is the busiest period of the year for designers, they are not just about superfamous. Rise actors can seriously increase the profile of their work on screens with successful red carpet appearances, such as The Bear’s Ayo Edebiri, did with his designer Danielle Goldberg. Social media influencers or personalities with great followers can hire the services of a stylist. And there was a time when men were just dressed and sent away, but a new generation of stripped men, including Timothée Chalamet and Colman Domingo, requires as much preparation as their feminine counterparts. The designers also became famous; For example, Law Roach, who works with Zendaya, can now make brand agreements for himself.
Despite all this pressure, several designers emphasize that their work often lacks drama. Instead, it requires meticulous planning and an almost militarized approach to the organization. Take Fisher, who estimates to have Stan dress in almost 100 looks over the past year, while the actor was promoting The Apprentice and Different Man. The designer rides the looks in “blocks”, he says, which means he tries to gather clothes and create looks in lots that can be worn in a few weeks of appearances.
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“Depending on the team surrounding the talent, you can set up a well -oiled machine and plan everything,” says Fisher. All of this is not a simple task. He has a studio in New York with two full -time assistants, as well as a space in Los Angeles with helping Freelance, and says he likes to overcome over his “pulls” – which means he requests more brands clothes than necessary, to be able to offer many options to his customers. These looks should be returned to brands.
Still, no amount of organization can save a stylist from the moments of absurdity or stress that work sometimes requires. “I’ve had people who literally lay on the floor of a SUV so as not to knead a dress,” says Moon. “Or people who use those standing buses now. But these are just tricks of the craft. ”
“Awards day is always a stressful moment,” says Fisher. “You have to hope that everyone is in the same area. Sometimes you are lucky, and everyone gets ready in the same hotel, and you just need to go from one floor to another, but there is always that rebel person who wants to get ready at home in Malibu. ” Fisher, like other designers, often employs an additional full -time assistant battalion and freelance on both the back of the United States, which can help during the busiest periods. “So you just try to prioritize everything, working in adrenaline and driving against traffic. I used to drive myself, but then I was just having ulcers trying to get the valets’ cars. ”
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On paper, designers are there to dress the customer, but at least one of them notes that they often deal with the emotional charge as well. “I worked with younger nominees that are new in this environment, and there may be very intense emotions on the day of a big event,” says one designer who preferred not to be identified. “It’s like a marriage. One detail can go out wrong and they can go into screw. All I can do is try to be a calm presence and be overly prepared for any unforeseen disaster. ”
And when all the awards have been delivered and the champagne has been served, remember the designers-even those at the height of their careers-who do the work nothing glamorous to return those designer dresses and prepare for the next event. “The other day I was at Station 42nd Street [do metrô] With two Away bags waiting for a train to Brooklyn, ”says Moon, laughing. “This part never really stops – lifting it and putting it on the floor. And I have a great team, but it’s not glamorous in this sense – in Ubers with heavy clothing bags and dresses and in the FedEx store every day. It is an endless cycle. ”
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