奧斯卡紅毯：一場高級定製品牌之間的較量大綱

When Jennifer Lawrence tripped on her way to accept her best actress Oscar last year, her blush pink princess-like Dior Haute Couture gown was captured in all its glory as the unscripted moment made ripples around the world.

That bonus air-time for a single dress at one of the world's premier global events is priceless for the likes of Dior, one of the strongest fashion houses in the cutthroat marketplace that the Oscars red carpet is today.

Success on the red carpet can buy cachet that no advertising can - both for designers and stars - and profits for luxury brands for years to come. With stakes that high, the more established houses are raising their game and leaving little room for newcomers to make a splash, like they might have a decade ago.

The red carpet, which will be televised live before the March 2 Academy Awards ceremony, presents "a great and free opportunity" for a designer to reach an audience that expands beyond the fashion set, said Ariel Foxman, editor of fashion magazine InStyle.

"It's free marketing," Foxman said. "Advertising dollars are so expensive, and marketing budgets are so fractured these days with social media, digital media, print media and television media, so it's more valuable than ever."

One way of estimating the monetary benefits of having a standout dress on the red carpet is to compare how much a brand would otherwise spend on commercial advertising during the same time, said Milton Pedraza, chief executive officer of the Luxury Group Institute, a consulting firm.

According to a report by Kantar Media released this week, the average cost of a 30-second advertising spot during the 2013 Oscars was $1.65 million. The show was watched by 40.3 million viewers in the United States and several hundred million more across the world.

For Lawrence's 2013 Oscar acceptance speech and her accidental trip on the stairs to the stage, she had more than 75 seconds of solo camera time. For a commercial spot of the same duration at the same time, Dior would have had to pay more than $4 million. And this doesn't include the time dedicated to Lawrence and her gown on the pre-show televised red carpet.

For this year, Kantar Media estimates that a 30-second advertising spot will cost brands an average of $1.8 million during the primetime show.

Lawrence, 23, who is nominated again this year in the best supporting actress category for "American Hustle," is a Dior brand ambassador, wearing the Paris fashion house's designs to all her public events.

While Christian Dior group has not disclosed how much it paid for its deal with Lawrence and doesn't discuss her impact on its sales, the high-end couture label is on the rise. In 2013, couture's profits totaled 165 million euros ($226 million), up 26 percent from 2012.

HARD TIMES FOR EMERGING DESIGNERS

While the Oscars has launched newcomer designers such as Olivier Theyskens, worn by Madonna in 1998, and Elie Saab, donned by Halle Berry when she won best actress in 2002, the big names in fashion don't leave much room for new talent anymore, said Hollywood fashion publicist Marilyn Heston.

Heston, the founder of publicity firm MHA Media whose success stories include introducing Jimmy Choo shoes and Lebanese designer Saab to Hollywood, said the Oscars red carpet is today dominated by established luxury brands.

"For young designers, finding their way into this world, it's really difficult," Heston said. "It's much more difficult to get successful placements for the big events when the eyes of the world are watching, the stakes are higher and there are more people in the game."

With the red carpet in mind, many of the top fashion houses have created capsule couture lines, such as Chanel Haute Couture, Atelier Versace, Armani Prive and Gucci Premiere, which are the highest of the high end.

For British designer Georgina Chapman, co-founder of Marchesa, the red carpet launched her then-unknown brand in 2004 when actress Renee Zellweger wore a red and gold Marchesa dress to the premiere of "Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason."

"The next day, the dress was on the cover of every single newspaper and there was Marchesa written as well. And it really hit home that this is what a red carpet can do for a brand," said Chapman, who is married to one of Hollywood's most powerful men, film producer Harvey Weinstein.

The pinnacle for Marchesa came in 2010 when Sandra Bullock won the best actress Oscar wearing a gold sequined gown by the brand. Chapman said the dress received 40 million mentions in media.

LOOK FOR LUPITA

The ultimate coup for a designer is to dress a young rising star on the Oscar red carpet, as fashion houses are trying to appeal to millennials who are likely to become customers as they earn more money, Pedraza said.

From Carey Mulligan's quirky Prada gown covered with miniature kitchen utensils in 2010, Lawrence's bold red form-fitting Calvin Klein in 2011, to Rooney Mara's white structured Givenchy gown offset by jet black hair in 2012, each year one emerging actress is sure to make a fashion statement.

This year, all eyes are on "12 Years a Slave" best supporting actress nominee Lupita Nyong'o, who has so far captivated fashion critics with her vibrant color choices.

From a vermillion Ralph Lauren column gown with a cape at the Golden Globes, a turquoise figure-hugging Gucci dress with a floral detailed neckline at the Screen Actor's Guild Awards, to a jade Dior Haute Couture gown at the BAFTAs in London, the 30-year-old actress has topped the best-dressed lists.

Nyong'o's fashion hits have cast a spotlight on her stylist, newcomer Micaela Erlanger, whose savvy picks have showcased the actress' versatility, made her a fashion muse almost overnight, and helped her land a campaign with luxury brand Miu Miu.

"Having that standout moment or having that public image is really an integral part of building someone's persona," said Erlanger.

As for what the Kenyan actress will wear on the Oscars red carpet, Erlanger isn't giving any clues. She has been scouring runways at this month's fashion presentations in New York and London in search of a standout dress.

"There should be an element of surprise, and that's what keeps everyone interested. I might go for the whimsy and unexpected but keep it modern and classic at the same time," the stylist teased.去年，詹尼佛•勞倫斯在領取奧斯卡最佳女演員獎的途中摔倒在地，當時她身穿的淺粉色迪奧（Dior）高級定製公主系禮服在那一刻驚豔全場，雖未有文字描述卻在全世界激起了漣漪。

此款禮服在這場頂級的全球活動的直播當中得到了額外的亮相時間，這對於迪奧（Dior）來說是無價的收穫。如今的奧斯卡紅毯已成爲殘酷的競爭市場，迪奧（Dior）正是參與其中的時尚品牌公司之一。

對於設計師們和明星們來說，在紅毯上取得成功所帶來的聲譽是廣告無法媲美的，這也會在接下來的數年中爲奢侈品牌帶來極大的利潤。儘管賭注如此之高，多家品牌還是紛紛提高了賭注，它們留給後來者的空間很小，以至於它們無法引起鬨動，這正如它們自己十年前的處境一樣。

紅毯儀式將於3月2日學院獎頒獎禮之前進行直播，對於想擴大時尚圈之外受衆羣的設計師來說，紅毯無疑是一個“免費的絕佳機會”，時尚雜誌《InStyle》編輯阿里爾•福克斯曼如是說。

福克斯曼還稱，“這是一次免費營銷，廣告費本就昂貴，如今營銷預算還要分別用在社會媒體、數字媒體，平面媒體和電視媒體上，因此這個機會才更具價值。”

諮詢公司奢侈品集團組織的首席執行官彌爾頓•佩德拉薩稱，若要估算紅毯上一件引人注目的禮服帶來的經濟利益，有一種方法是比較一個品牌願爲在同時段做廣告花費多少錢。

坎塔媒體公司本週發佈的報告顯示，2013年奧斯卡頒獎禮30秒的廣告費平均爲165萬美元。約有4003萬美國觀衆和幾億其它國家的觀衆觀看這場典禮。

將勞倫斯2013年奧斯卡的獲獎感言以及在臺階上意外摔倒的時間加起來，她單獨出現在鏡頭的時間多於75秒。如果換做同一時段同一長度的廣告，迪奧（Dior）需要支付400萬美元。這還不包括勞倫斯在典禮開始前穿着禮服走紅毯的時間。

今年，坎塔媒體公司預計品牌在典禮黃金時段插播廣告的花費平均爲180萬美元。

23歲的勞倫斯今年又憑藉《美國騙局》獲最佳女配角提名，身爲迪奧（Dior）的品牌代言人，她身着巴黎時尚品牌的設計出入各種公共場合。

儘管克里斯汀•迪奧（Christian Dior）集團並未透露它此次與勞倫斯合作的價碼，也未提到她對產品銷量的影響，但這個高端定製品牌的銷量正不斷上升。2013年，高級定製盈利達1億6500萬歐元（2億2600萬美元），比2012年增長了26%。

新晉設計師遭遇困境

好萊塢時尚公關人員瑪麗琳•赫斯頓稱，儘管奧斯卡舞臺歡迎新晉設計師，如1998年麥當娜穿的是奧利維爾•泰斯金斯設計的禮服，哈利•貝瑞在2002年獲最佳女演員時身穿艾莉•薩博設計的禮服，但時尚行業的大品牌卻沒有再給設計師新秀留下發展空間。

赫斯頓是公關公司MHA媒體的創始人，該公司成功將吉米•周（Jimmy Choo)的鞋和黎巴嫩裔設計師薩博引入好萊塢市場，她說如今的奧斯卡紅毯已被成熟的奢侈品品牌所壟斷。

“對年輕設計師來說，要想進入這個圈子太難了，”赫斯頓坦言。“比這更加困難的是在全世界這麼多人的注視下成功布置好這一切，賭注更大，而且有更多的人蔘與競爭。”

由於紅毯效應的出現，許多頂級時尚公司創建了小型服裝生產線，比如香奈兒高級定製服裝(Chanel Haute Couture)，阿特利爾•範思哲高級定製(Atelier Versace)，阿瑪尼高級定製(Armani Prive)和古琦高級定製(Gucci Premiere)，這些都是高端品牌中的頂級品牌。

對於馬切薩(Marchesa)的共同合夥人，英國設計師喬治娜•查普曼來說，紅毯在2004年推廣了當時還不爲人知的自家品牌，當時蕾妮•齊薇格身穿馬切薩(Marchesa)紅金色相間的禮服出席了《BJ單身日記2：理性邊緣》的首映禮。

“第二天這件禮服就出現在幾乎每家報紙的封面上，其中也提到了馬切薩(Marchesa)。這充分說明紅毯對一個品牌來說意味着什麼，”切普曼說道，她本人嫁給了好萊塢最有權勢的人之一——電影製片人哈維•溫斯坦。

馬切薩(Marchesa)在2010年迎來了發展的巔峯，桑德拉•布洛克在贏得奧斯卡最佳女演員獎時身着金色閃光的馬切薩(Marchesa)禮服。切普曼說這件禮服被媒體提到了4000多萬次。

尋找露皮塔

設計師的終極目標就是爲奧斯卡紅毯上年輕的新星提供禮服，時尚品牌也致力於吸引數以千計的賺到更多錢後的潛在消費者，佩德拉薩如是說。

從2010年凱莉•穆里根身穿的一件古怪的綴滿微型廚房器皿的普拉達（Prada）禮服，到2011年勞倫斯的CK豔紅色緊身禮服，再到2012年魯尼•瑪拉以白色鏤空紀梵希（Givenchy）禮服搭配一頭烏髮，每年出現的新生代女演員都發表了時尚宣言。

今年，所有人的目光都集中在《爲奴十二載》最佳女配角提名者露皮塔•尼永奧身上，她目前因明亮的色彩搭配吸引了評論家們的眼球。

憑藉金球獎上的硃紅色拉夫•勞倫（Ralph Lauren） 圓柱形禮服搭配披肩，美國演員公會獎上領口綴滿花朵的古琦（Gucci）藍綠色緊身禮服以及在倫敦英國電影和電視藝術學院獎上的淺綠色迪奧高級定製禮服，現年30歲的尼永奧登上了最佳着裝的榜首。

尼永奧在時尚方面的成功使人們的目光投向了她的造型師米凱拉•厄蘭格，她的智慧充分展現了尼永奧的多面性，使她幾乎在一夜之間成爲了時尚繆斯併成功促成了他與奢侈品牌繆繆（Miu Miu）的合作。

厄蘭格說，“擁有一個令人矚目的時刻或那樣的公共形象是塑造個人形象不可或缺的一部分。”

至於這位肯尼亞女演員在奧斯卡紅毯上會穿什麼禮服出現，厄蘭格並沒有給出任何線索。她這個月一直在紐約和倫敦的各大秀場T臺搜尋一件出衆的禮服。

“應該會有驚喜的元素出現，那也使得大家有興趣繼續關注。我可能會有找到一些離奇的或者出人意料的東西，但我會使它既時髦又經典，”厄蘭格開玩笑地說道。