When the nominees and other assorted A-listers stride down the (thankfully, once again) red carpet at the Oscars on Sunday, many, if not most looks will be the product of careful negotiations between brands, agents, stylists and stars, with millions of dollars changing hands.

This is no secret, of course. Red carpet dressing has been big business going back to the 1990s. But it has swallowed up an ever-greater share of luxury brands’ marketing budgets in recent years. That’s partly down to the brands themselves getting bigger, which means they have more to spend, but also need more and more attention on their celebrity ambassadors to meaningfully move the sales needle. The decline of print and television advertising has also narrowed the options for where to stage a big moment (former BoF correspondent Lauren Sherman has an excellent rundown of how this all works on Puck’s The Town podcast).

Believe it or not, there is, in fact, a limit to how big the red carpet can get before the costs start to outweigh the benefits. And it’s possible we’ll look back on this year’s awards season as the moment we hit that threshold.

The most obvious reason is that, Miu Miu aside, most luxury brands aren’t growing sales by 80 percent annually anymore. The beancounters hold more sway when a label is no longer printing cash, and an obvious money pit like celebrity dressing is one place to cut costs.

Some caveats: we’re mostly talking about spending caps rather than a dramatic pullback, as after two-plus decades, few brands can afford not to play the game anymore. Any cuts apply mainly to lesser events rather than the Oscars, which is second only to the Met Gala in terms of media impact. The biggest brands, such as Chanel and Dior, aren’t hurting for cash, and having the biggest actors locked down is a key way they maintain their lead. Red carpet dressing is also integral to labels like Versace and Armani.

But for small and mid-sized brands, and struggling larger labels, some strategic adjustments may be necessary. Fortunately, there are ways to play the red carpet game without a Chanel-sized budget. Loewe has run neck-and-neck with the likes of Prada and Louis Vuitton in terms of social media buzz at some pre-Oscar events, according to data from TribeDynamics. The brand has focused its efforts on up-and-coming actresses like Greta Lee, social media favourites like Aubrey Plaza (whose Emmys dress featuring a giant pin made the rounds on Instagram) and tabloid fixtures like Taylor Russell (the Canadian actress, who is dating Harry Styles, wore a backless Loewe dress to the BAFTAs).

Menswear is another budget-friendly option. It’s rare for a man to crack the list of most-talked-about looks on social, according to a Launchmetrics analysis of this year’s awards shows (Pedro Pascal being the exception that proved the rule, several times over). But Off-White, fresh off the Super Bowl, scored a minor hit with its powder-pink tux for “The Color Purple” nominee Colman Domingo at the Screen Actors Guild Awards. Burberry’s big pre-Oscar announcement was that it’s signed Barry Keoghan as an ambassador; the “Saltburn” star isn’t nominated for anything, but is widely seen as a next big thing in Hollywood, and has been getting plenty of attention for his unconventional red carpet looks this year.

If you’re looking for real proof the red carpet economy has maxed out though, look no further than this column, or the many like it you’ll find in competing publications. As any mob wife or coastal grandma will tell you, nothing says a trend has peaked like saturation media coverage.

Robert Williams contributed to this article.

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Background:

This fashion month was all about looking ahead. At several major brands, newly-appointed creative directors ushered in a new era, including Seán McGirr at Alexander McQueen, Adrian Appiolaza at Moschino and Chemena Kamali at Chloé. But beyond the creative director premieres, recurring motifs of technology and the pared down everyday reflected the current state of the world — and what’s to come.

“Early on, I detected this rather peculiar strain of sci-fi,” says Tim Blanks, BoF’s editor-at-large. “There is that incipient sense of apocalypse lurking and I think if you step back and take a really long view of what was happening, you could feel that kind of anxiety,” says Tim Blanks, BoF’s editor-at-large.

Following the conclusion of the Autumn/Winter 2024 shows, Blanks sits down with BoF founder and editor-in-chief Imran Amed to discuss the highlights of fashion month.

Key Insights:

• At Louis Vuitton, Phillippe Parreno’s immersive set design and Nicolas Ghesquière’s futuristic garments left lasting impressions. “There was a lot of white and a lot of reflection, a lot of shiny stuff. They could have been heading off to a space station. And the sound was insane. The sound makes you want to go home and open a nightclub in your living room,” says Blanks.
• Undercover’s Jun Takahashi featured a poem about a single mother raising her eight year old child, written by German filmmaker and playwright Wim Wenders. “Every detail is just so beautiful and evocative and then Jun Takahashi showed the collection to go with that; everyday clothes, but completely transmogrified by his insane ingenuity,” recalls Blanks.
• At Alexander McQueen, Seán McGirr’s first show displayed his energetic direction for the house following Sarah Burton’s departure. “I think that as a creative director debuting at a house, it’s much harder to create new energy than it is to create merchandisable clothes. And I think that’s what he succeeded in doing; he created a new energy around that brand,” says Amed.
• Following the sudden passing of David Renne, Moschino welcomed new creative director Adrian Appiolaza, who looked to the roots of the brand for his first show. “If you detail Franco Moschino’s iconography, Adrian Appiolaza went down the list and ticked every box. I think that that was probably the most joyful show of the whole season. … I think he celebrated the work of [Franco Moschino], in such a way that I’m really looking forward to seeing what he does next,” says Blanks.
• At Chloé, Chemena Kamali’s charisma shone through on the runway. “You could see her really embodying the new Chloé and being that kind of ambassador for Chloé in a way that maybe some of the more recent creative directors never were really able to do,” says Amed.

Additional resources:

EU antitrust regulators will decide by April 15 whether to clear Coach parent Tapestry’s $8.5 billion acquisition of Michael Kors owner Capri Holdings, according to a European Commission filing.

Tapestry sought EU approval on Wednesday for the deal that would create an American fashion powerhouse to challenge larger European rivals such as Paris-listed LVMH for a bigger share of the global luxury market.

The European Union’s competition enforcer can clear the deal with or without conditions after a preliminary review or open a four-month investigation if it has serious concerns.

Capri’s brands include Versace and Jimmy Choo, while Tapestry owns Kate Spade and Stuart Weitzman.

By Foo Yun Chee; editing by Milla Nissi

Learn more:

Tapestry Forecasts Higher 2024 Profit on China Demand, Strong Margins

Coach parent Tapestry raised its annual profit forecast on Thursday, betting on full-price sales of its premium handbags and satchels as well as early signs of a demand recovery in key market China.

Boots is ordering administrative staff back into the office for five days a week from September as it tries to gear up the business before a potential sale or flotation.

The CEO, Seb James, said the employees – who had been asked to work at least three days a week in the group’s various bases in Nottingham, Weybridge in Surrey, and London – should return for the full working week, arguing that the office was a “much more fun and inspiring place” with everyone in attendance.

“There is no doubt in my mind that the informal conversations, brief catch-ups and ability to meet in groups in person has been far more effective – and better for our unique Boots culture – than the enforced formality of remote meetings,” James told staff.

He said the company would spend the next few months upgrading the IT systems in its offices so that all had access to video conferencing. He said the company would also improve its wifi, create more “quiet spaces,” improve car parking, and look at “how to make our food better.”

About 3,900 Boots staff work at its head offices with the rest of its 52,000 employees in stores or in warehouses and distribution.

James said the office should be Boots support staff’s “normal place of work” but conceded there would be “the odd day when it makes much more sense for you to work elsewhere – for either business or personal reasons.” He gave the example of a dentist’s appointment in the middle of the day.

A Boots spokesperson said: “We are asking team members to make the office their usual place of work from 1 September. We really value the team spirit that comes with being together in person. There will of course still be times when working from home is necessary for either personal or business reasons.”

The changes in working come as Boots’ US-based owner considers a sale or possible flotation of its UK retail arm, which could value the business at as much as £7 billion ($9 billion).

Walgreens Boots Alliance, which abandoned a £5 billion sale of Boots and its related No7 Beauty brand in 2022, is thought to be exploring options including an initial public offering on the London Stock Exchange.

Boots’ change of tack marks a gradual shift in sentiment against working from home among many businesses since the pandemic lockdowns ended.

In December, the Nationwide building society told its staff they must work in the office at least two days a week from early this year while the tech firm Amazon has warned it will block promotions for workers who refuse to work in the office three days a week.

Many large corporations started to call for an end to the more flexible working patterns in the autumn, led by the big tech firms such as Amazon, the Google owner Alphabet and Meta, and banks including Citigroup and Lloyds.

Nearly two-thirds of bosses believe workers would return to the office five days a week within the next three years, according to a survey by advisory firm KPMG published in October. Most company leaders participating in that report thought pay and promotions could become linked to workplace attendance.

By Sarah Butler

Learn more:

Walgreens Profit Beats Wall Street as Sales Rise Amid Cost Cuts

Walgreens will almost halve its quarterly dividend to 25 cents a share, CEO Tim Wentworth said Thursday. The move will help increase cash flow, freeing up capital to invest in the pharmacy and health care businesses, he said.