奥斯卡红毯：高级定制品牌之间的没有硝烟的战争

　　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•劳伦斯在领取奥斯卡最佳女演员奖的途中摔倒在地，当时她身穿的浅粉色迪奥(Dior)高级定制公主系礼服在那一刻惊艳全场，虽未有文字描述却在全世界激起了涟漪。

　　此款礼服在这场顶级的全球活动的直播当中得到了额外的亮相时间，这对于迪奥(Dior)来说是无价的收获。如今的奥斯卡红毯已成为残酷的竞争市场，迪奥(Dior)正是参与其中的时尚品牌公司之一。

　　对于设计师们和明星们来说，在红毯上取得成功所带来的声誉是广告无法媲美的，这也会在接下来的数年中为奢侈品牌带来极大的利润。尽管赌注如此之高，多家品牌还是纷纷提高了赌注，它们留给后来者的空间很小，以至于它们无法引起哄动，这正如它们自己十年前的处境一样。

　　红毯仪式将于3月2日学院奖颁奖礼之前进行直播，对于想扩大时尚圈之外受众群的设计师来说，红毯无疑是一个“免费的绝佳机会”，时尚杂志《InStyle》编辑阿里尔•福克斯曼如是说。

　　福克斯曼还称，“这是一次免费营销，广告费本就昂贵，如今营销预算还要分别用在社会媒体、数字媒体，平面媒体和电视媒体上，因此这个机会才更具价值。”

　　咨询公司奢侈品集团组织的首席执行官弥尔顿•佩德拉萨称，若要估算红毯上一件引人注目的礼服带来的经济利益，有一种方法是比较一个品牌愿为在同时段做广告花费多少钱。

　　坎塔媒体公司本周发布的报告显示，2013年奥斯卡颁奖礼30秒的广告费平均为165万美元。约有4003万美国观众和几亿其它国家的观众观看这场典礼。

　　将劳伦斯2013年奥斯卡的获奖感言以及在台阶上意外摔倒的时间加起来，她单独出现在镜头的时间多于75秒。如果换做同一时段同一长度的广告，迪奥(Dior)需要支付400万美元。这还不包括劳伦斯在典礼开始前穿着礼服走红毯的时间。

　　今年，坎塔媒体公司预计品牌在典礼黄金时段插播广告的花费平均为180万美元。

　　23岁的劳伦斯今年又凭借《美国骗局》获最佳女配角提名，身为迪奥(Dior)的品牌代言人，她身着巴黎时尚品牌的设计出入各种公共场合。

　　尽管克里斯汀•迪奥(Christian Dior)集团并未透露它此次与劳伦斯合作的价码，也未提到她对产品销量的影响，但这个高端定制品牌的销量正不断上升。2013年，高级定制盈利达1亿6500万欧元(2亿2600万美元)，比2012年增长了26%。

　　新晋设计师遭遇困境

　　好莱坞时尚公关人员玛丽琳•赫斯顿称，尽管奥斯卡舞台欢迎新晋设计师，如1998年麦当娜穿的是奥利维尔•泰斯金斯设计的礼服，哈利•贝瑞在2002年获最佳女演员时身穿艾莉•萨博设计的礼服，但时尚行业的大品牌却没有再给设计师新秀留下发展空间。

　　赫斯顿是公关公司MHA媒体的创始人，该公司成功将吉米•周(Jimmy Choo)的鞋和黎巴嫩裔设计师萨博引入好莱坞市场，她说如今的奥斯卡红毯已被成熟的奢侈品品牌所垄断。

　　“对年轻设计师来说，要想进入这个圈子太难了，”赫斯顿坦言。“比这更加困难的是在全世界这么多人的注视下成功布置好这一切，赌注更大，而且有更多的人参与竞争。”

　　由于红毯效应的出现，许多顶级时尚公司创建了小型服装生产线，比如香奈儿高级定制服装(Chanel Haute Couture)，阿特利尔•范思哲高级定制(Atelier Versace)，阿玛尼高级定制(Armani Prive)和古琦高级定制(Gucci Premiere)，这些都是高端品牌中的顶级品牌。

　　对于马切萨(Marchesa)的共同合伙人，英国设计师乔治娜•查普曼来说，红毯在2004年推广了当时还不为人知的自家品牌，当时蕾妮•齐薇格身穿马切萨(Marchesa)红金色相间的礼服出席了《BJ单身日记2：理性边缘》的首映礼。

　　“第二天这件礼服就出现在几乎每家报纸的封面上，其中也提到了马切萨(Marchesa)。这充分说明红毯对一个品牌来说意味着什么，”切普曼说道，她本人嫁给了好莱坞最有权势的人之一——电影制片人哈维•温斯坦。

　　马切萨(Marchesa)在2010年迎来了发展的巅峰，桑德拉•布洛克在赢得奥斯卡最佳女演员奖时身着金色闪光的马切萨(Marchesa)礼服。切普曼说这件礼服被媒体提到了4000多万次。

　　寻找露皮塔

　　设计师的终极目标就是为奥斯卡红毯上年轻的新星提供礼服，时尚品牌也致力于吸引数以千计的赚到更多钱后的潜在消费者，佩德拉萨如是说。

　　从2010年凯莉•穆里根身穿的一件古怪的缀满微型厨房器皿的普拉达(Prada)礼服，到2011年劳伦斯的CK艳红色紧身礼服，再到2012年鲁尼•玛拉以白色镂空纪梵希(Givenchy)礼服搭配一头乌发，每年出现的新生代女演员都发表了时尚宣言。

　　今年，所有人的目光都集中在《为奴十二载》最佳女配角提名者露皮塔•尼永奥身上，她目前因明亮的色彩搭配吸引了评论家们的眼球。

　　凭借金球奖上的朱红色拉夫•劳伦(Ralph Lauren) 圆柱形礼服搭配披肩，美国演员公会奖上领口缀满花朵的古琦(Gucci)蓝绿色紧身礼服以及在伦敦英国电影和电视艺术学院奖上的浅绿色迪奥高级定制礼服，现年30岁的尼永奥登上了最佳着装的榜首。

　　尼永奥在时尚方面的成功使人们的目光投向了她的造型师米凯拉•厄兰格，她的智慧充分展现了尼永奥的多面性，使她几乎在一夜之间成为了时尚缪斯并成功促成了他与奢侈品牌缪缪(Miu Miu)的合作。

　　厄兰格说，“拥有一个令人瞩目的时刻或那样的公共形象是塑造个人形象不可或缺的一部分。”

　　至于这位肯尼亚女演员在奥斯卡红毯上会穿什么礼服出现，厄兰格并没有给出任何线索。她这个月一直在纽约和伦敦的各大秀场T台搜寻一件出众的礼服。

　　“应该会有惊喜的元素出现，那也使得大家有兴趣继续关注。我可能会有找到一些离奇的或者出人意料的东西，但我会使它既时髦又经典，”厄兰格开玩笑地说道。