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What happens to the clothes worn on the red carpet?

Some get to rest in an archive, some are simply forgotten

Kim Kardashian at the 2022 Met Gala
What happens to the clothes worn on the red carpet?  Some get to rest in an archive, some are simply forgotten
Zendaya in Louis Vuitton
Angelina Jolie in Alexander McQueen
Anya Taylor Joy in vintage Dior
Ariana Grande in vintage Givenchy
Lady Gaga, Golden Globes 2019
Gwyneth Paltrow at the Oscars, 1999
Kim Kardashian at the 2022 Met Gala
What happens to the clothes worn on the red carpet?  Some get to rest in an archive, some are simply forgotten

The awards season has just begun, and with it the red carpet season. The Golden Globes have kicked off months of celebrations for the film and music industry, where everyone, from fashion enthusiasts to pop culture fans, can have fun criticizing or praising the looks chosen by the stars. Whether it's couture, archival vintage, or an accessible brand—like the Primark outfit worn by Rita Ora at the British Fashion Awards—celebrities can decide with their stylists which designer best represents them. But what happens to the outfits they wear once the event is over? After all, not everyone is like Cate Blanchett, an actress and advocate for reuse, known for repeatedly wearing the same outfit in front of the paparazzi in Venice and Cannes. The nature of the outfits chosen by stars for the red carpet varies: at last week's Golden Globes, Zendaya dazzled the audience in a custom-made Louis Vuitton gown, while Angelina Jolie opted for an equally stunning look from the latest Alexander McQueen collection. A famous example is Kim Kardashian at the 2022 Met Gala, who rented one of Marilyn Monroe's most iconic dresses for the evening from the Ripley's Believe It or Not! museum. The origins of a red carpet outfit are as varied as the fates that await them after the curtain falls.

What happens to the clothes worn on the red carpet?  Some get to rest in an archive, some are simply forgotten | Image 548275
Kim Kardashian at the 2022 Met Gala
What happens to the clothes worn on the red carpet?  Some get to rest in an archive, some are simply forgotten | Image 548267
Zendaya in Louis Vuitton
What happens to the clothes worn on the red carpet?  Some get to rest in an archive, some are simply forgotten | Image 548269
Angelina Jolie in Alexander McQueen
What happens to the clothes worn on the red carpet?  Some get to rest in an archive, some are simply forgotten | Image 548275
Kim Kardashian at the 2022 Met Gala
What happens to the clothes worn on the red carpet?  Some get to rest in an archive, some are simply forgotten | Image 548267
Zendaya in Louis Vuitton

An outfit chosen by a celebrity for a high-profile event like the Oscars or the Venice Film Festival can end up in an exhibition (as might be the case with the Met Gala) or remain in the celebrity's wardrobe. Some, especially looks from recent runway shows, are returned to the fashion house that produced them, while others are resold on the market. In recent years, red carpet and stage outfits have garnered significant public interest, as evidenced by the surge in high-fashion auctions worldwide and the substantial online traffic each red carpet generates. For this reason, whereas in the past century, star looks were often forgotten (by brands included), today each look’s journey is carefully planned in advance, from creation to preservation, as confirmed by Sotheby’s curator Lucy Bishop in an interview with CNN.

What happens to the clothes worn on the red carpet?  Some get to rest in an archive, some are simply forgotten | Image 548273
Lady Gaga, Golden Globes 2019
What happens to the clothes worn on the red carpet?  Some get to rest in an archive, some are simply forgotten | Image 548272
Ariana Grande in vintage Givenchy
What happens to the clothes worn on the red carpet?  Some get to rest in an archive, some are simply forgotten | Image 548271
Anya Taylor Joy in vintage Dior
What happens to the clothes worn on the red carpet?  Some get to rest in an archive, some are simply forgotten | Image 548274
Gwyneth Paltrow at the Oscars, 1999
What happens to the clothes worn on the red carpet?  Some get to rest in an archive, some are simply forgotten | Image 548273
Lady Gaga, Golden Globes 2019
What happens to the clothes worn on the red carpet?  Some get to rest in an archive, some are simply forgotten | Image 548272
Ariana Grande in vintage Givenchy

If the outfit worn holds high value (symbolic or monetary), it often ends up in the hands of museum curators and conservators. Only they have the expertise to clean the garment properly and protect it from potential damage caused by contact with makeup, perfume, or even the wearer's sweat. Once preservation is optimized, the look is cataloged and archived according to protocol, either by a museum or a private collector. The popularity of archival fashion on red carpets—reaffirmed at the Golden Globes by Ariana Grande and Anya Taylor-Joy choosing vintage Givenchy and Dior outfits—has led museums and conservators to pay even closer attention to all garments, as any of them could be selected by a celebrity for a special evening. While a dress on display in an exhibition is safe from stains and mishaps thanks to glass cases and alarm systems, the same cannot be said for a dress worn by a star at a party, often accompanied by a drink in hand.

Some dresses face a less glamorous fate: at the Golden Globes, Lady Gaga famously forgot her dress at the hotel, which ended up in the building's lost-and-found box, while at the latest Met Gala, Balmain’s creative director Olivier Rousteing literally cut part of Tyla’s outfit. It’s unclear if the rest of the dress survived the night, as it was made of sand. In short, the fate of a dress after being photographed by hundreds of photographers on a red carpet varies case by case. Consider the iconic pink Ralph Lauren gown worn by Gwyneth Paltrow to the 1999 Oscars, which remains in the actress’s wardrobe. In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, she revealed that she would lend it to her daughter. «Maybe she’ll wear it to prom and do a Pretty in Pink thing, sawing and cutting it.» Let’s hope not.