A red carpet is traditionally used to mark the route taken by heads of state on ceremonial and formal occasions, and has in recent decades been extended to use by VIPs and celebrities at formal events.
A red carpet is traditionally used to mark the route taken by heads of state on ceremonial and formal occasions, and has in recent decades been extended to use by VIPs and celebrities at formal events.
The earliest known reference to walking a red carpet in literature is in the play Agamemnon by Aeschylus, written in 458 BC. When the title character returns from Troy, he is greeted by his wife Clytemnestra who offers him a red path to walk upon:
Now, dearest husband, come, step from your chariot.
But do not set to earth, my lord, the conquering foot
That trod down Troy. Servants, do as you have been bidden;
Make haste, carpet his way with crimson tapestries,
Spread silk before your master’s feet; Justice herself
Shall lead him to a home he never hoped to see. [1]
Agamemnon, knowing that only gods walk on such luxury, responds with trepidation:
I count it dangerous, being mortal, to set foot
On rich embroidered silks. I would be reverenced
As man, not god. The praise of fame rings clear without
These frills and fancy foot-rugs; [1]
Renaissance paintings often show rugs and carpets in oriental patterns, with red often the main background colour, laid on the steps to a throne, or on a dais where rulers or sacred figures are placed.
A red carpet was rolled out to a river to welcome the arrival of United States president James Monroe in 1821. [2] In 1902, the New York Central Railroad began using plush crimson carpets to direct people as they boarded their 20th Century Limited passenger train. This is believed to be the origin of the phrase "red-carpet treatment". [3]
By the late 1920s the red carpet had become synonymous with Hollywood and film premieres. A crimson-hued carpet was used for the first ever Hollywood premiere, the 1922 premiere of Robin Hood , starring Douglas Fairbanks, in front of the Egyptian Theatre. For the following decades, the red carpet was one of the few places the public could catch a glimpse of stars like Clark Gable, Jimmy Stewart and Grace Kelly. [4]
In 1961, the red carpet was introduced at the Academy Awards at the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium. In 1964, the broadcasters of the ceremony opted to film outside the venue, showing the arrival of guests as they stepped out of their limousines. From this point forward, the red carpet became a globally acknowledged focal point for actors and actresses to make a grand entrance and showcase themselves at the Oscars. [4]
A red carpet is also used in gala celebrity events such as the Academy Awards, Golden Globe Awards, Grammy Awards, Met Gala, and BAFTAs. While the awards take place inside, much of the publicity and excitement takes place outside with journalists discussing the red carpet fashions, what designers are being worn by which stars and photographers taking pictures in the press line. This is now a spectacular international product placement arena of great importance to the fashion industry. Red carpets are often coupled with publicity backdrops which contain brand logos or emblems for photography purposes. [5]
Carpeting in other colors may replace red in some instances to honor a certain cause, such as a "green carpet" to promote environmental awareness; or, for a sponsored event, the sponsor's logo colors, such as the Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards, which uses an orange carpet to match the network's primary imaging color; [6] The MTV Video Music Awards have similarly varied, with some editions having used black (2022), [7] white (2016), [8] and blue (2017) carpets. [9]
In 2019, the premiere of the film Detective Pikachu (2019) used a yellow carpet to match the color of its title character Pikachu. [10] The premiere of Sonic the Hedgehog (2020) used a blue carpet to match its namesake character. [11]
At the 95th Academy Awards in 2023, the organizers chose a different champagne color for the first time since the red carpet was introduced, as part of an attempt to better reflect a "day event into the night". [12]
The Jeopardy! Honors event, which was held annually since Season 39 on the eve of the Tournament of Champions, featured a blue carpet, in order to match the color of its background used during clues and dollar amounts shown on the clue board, from inside the Alex Trebek Stage at Sony Pictures Studios.
More generally, "red carpet treatment" and "rolling out the red carpet" usually refer to any special efforts made in the interests of hospitality.[ citation needed ]
United Airlines operates a series of airport lounges at major airports that were formerly known as "Red Carpet Clubs".[ citation needed ]
Sonic the Hedgehog is a character created by the Japanese game developers Yuji Naka and Naoto Ohshima. He is the star of the Sonic the Hedgehog franchise and the mascot of the Japanese video game company Sega. Sonic is an anthropomorphic blue hedgehog who can run at supersonic speed. He races through levels, collecting rings and avoiding obstacles, as he seeks to defeat his archenemy, Doctor Eggman. He is accompanied by supporting characters, such as his sidekick Miles "Tails" Prower, self-proclaimed girlfriend Amy Rose, and friendly rival Knuckles the Echidna.
An Afghan rug is a type of handwoven floor-covering textile traditionally made in the northern and western areas of Afghanistan, mainly by Afghan Turkmens and Uzbeks. The industry is being expanded to all 34 provinces of Afghanistan.
The Met Gala, formally called the Costume Institute Benefit, is the annual haute couture fundraising festival held for the benefit of the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume Institute in Manhattan. The Met Gala is popularly regarded as the world's most prestigious and glamorous fashion event. Fashion stars and models are able to express themselves by their fit according to the theme and social gathering. The event is known as "fashion's biggest night"; an invitation is highly sought after. Personalities who are perceived to be culturally relevant to contemporary society amongst various professional spheres, including fashion, film, television, music, theater, business, sports, social media and politics, are invited to attend the Met Gala, organized by the fashion magazine Vogue. The entry price for one ticket has risen to US$75,000 in 2024, an increase from $50,000 in 2023, to attend the annual gala in the world's principal financial center and fashion capital, New York City.
American entertainer Jennifer Lopez wore a green Versace silk chiffon dress to the 42nd Grammy Awards ceremony on February 23, 2000. The sheer fabric was printed with a tropical leaf and bamboo pattern, and cut with a very low neckline that extended well past Lopez's navel, while the waist of the dress was studded with citrines.
Tadashi Shoji is an American-based Japanese fashion designer known for his evening wear and bridal collections, and his red-carpet fashion. The Tadashi Shoji brand is carried in over 700 major department and specialty stores worldwide, with signature boutiques in the United States, Indonesia, and the Middle East. The company operates offices in Los Angeles and Shanghai, as well as showrooms in New York City, Tokyo, and Osaka.
Red carpet fashion consists of outfits worn on the red carpet at high-profile gala celebrity events such as award ceremonies and film premieres. The clothes worn to award events such as the Oscars and the Golden Globes consistently receive intense worldwide media scrutiny, making their red carpets an international product placement area of great importance to fashion designers. Despite the publicity given to award ceremonies, other red-carpet events such as the Vogue-hosted Met Gala also have a significant impact on the fashion world.
Red carpet fashion in 2007 featured beading and metallic themes at the Golden Globe Awards, dresses with a single shoulder strap at the Oscars, and strong colours or black-and-white at the Emmy Awards.
Keltie Colleen Knight is a three-time Emmy Award-winning Canadian television personality, podcast host, New York Times bestselling author, and former professional dancer.
Cristina Ehrlich is an American fashion stylist. She has been listed as one of the 25 most powerful stylists by the Hollywood Reporter six times. Ehrlich was named "Celebrity Stylist of the Year" in 2012 at New York Fashion Week's Style Awards, received a Marie Claire Image Maker Award in 2017 and the DIFF Impact In Fashion Award in 2019.
Zaldy Goco, also known mononymously as Zaldy, is a Filipino-American fashion designer. In 1995, he was featured as a model in a British television advertisement for Levi's. Zaldy was named one of Out magazine's Out 100 in 2006. He was the costume designer for Michael Jackson's This Is It concerts, Lady Gaga's Monster Ball Tour, and Britney Spears's Femme Fatale Tour. Zaldy designed the costumes for the Cirque du Soleil shows Michael Jackson: The Immortal World Tour, Michael Jackson: One, and Volta. He was also the head designer for Gwen Stefani's fashion line L.A.M.B. He has received five Emmy nominations, winning in 2017, 2018, and 2019 for Outstanding Costumes for a Variety, Nonfiction, or Reality Programming due to his work on RuPaul's Drag Race.
Pokémon Detective Pikachu is a 2019 fantasy film directed by Rob Letterman. Based on the Pokémon franchise, the film is a loose adaptation of the 2016 video game of the same name. It was written by Rob Letterman, Dan Hernandez, Benji Samit, and Derek Connolly, from a story by Hernandez, Samit, and Nicole Perlman, and produced by Legendary Pictures and Toho. It was the first live-action Pokémon film and the first live-action film based on a Nintendo game property since Super Mario Bros. (1993).
Sonic the Hedgehog is a 2020 action-adventure comedy film based on the video game series published by Sega. The film was directed by Jeff Fowler and written by Pat Casey and Josh Miller, and stars James Marsden and Jim Carrey, with Ben Schwartz voicing the titular character. The plot follows Sonic, a blue anthropomorphic hedgehog who can run at supersonic speeds, who teams up with a town sheriff to stop the mad scientist Dr. Robotnik.
Sonic the Hedgehog 2 is a 2022 action-adventure comedy film based on the video game series Sonic the Hedgehog published by Sega. The sequel to Sonic the Hedgehog (2020), it was directed by Jeff Fowler from a screenplay by Pat Casey, Josh Miller, and John Whittington, based on a story by Casey and Miller. James Marsden, Ben Schwartz, Tika Sumpter, Colleen O'Shaughnessey, and Jim Carrey reprise their roles, with Idris Elba joining the cast. In the film, Sonic and Tails must find the Master Emerald before the villainous Dr. Robotnik (Eggman) and his partner Knuckles the Echidna.
Sega Heroes was a free-to-play puzzle video game developed by Demiurge Studios and published by Sega for Android and iOS. Released on November 14, 2018, the game ceased operations in May 2020 following Demiurge's split from Sega to become an independent video game developer.
Andrew Jun O Kwon is a Korean-American fashion designer based in New York, NY. He founded his label, ANDREW KWON, which focuses on demi-couture bridal and eveningwear.
Blue's Big City Adventure, previously titled Blue's Broadway Dreams, is a 2022 live-action/animated musical comedy film. It is the second installment of the Blue's Clues film series, and a standalone sequel to Blue's Big Musical Movie, based on the revival Nick Jr. Channel television series, Blue's Clues & You!. Directed by Matt Stawski, the film stars Traci Paige Johnson as the voice of Blue, alongside Josh Dela Cruz, Donovan Patton, and Steve Burns. As the events of the film take place after the original series and during the fourth season of Blue's Clues & You!, the film follows Josh and Blue as they travel to New York City to audition for a Broadway musical.
Sohee Park is a South Korean womenswear designer based in London, United Kingdom. She is known for her clothing label Miss Sohee, which specializes in couture.
The 36th Annual Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards ceremony was held on March 4, 2023, at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles, California with Nate Burleson and Charli D'Amelio serving as hosts. It aired live on Nickelodeon and in a domestic simulcast with several other Paramount Global cable networks, and was broadcast live or tape delayed across all of Nickelodeon's international networks. Prior to the ceremony, a nominations special aired on Nickelodeon on March 2.
Oren Uziel is an American film screenwriter, director, and producer best known for his work on Mortal Kombat: Rebirth (2010), 22 Jump Street (2014), The Cloverfield Paradox (2018), and The Lost City (2022).
premiere on the Paramount lot featuring games and activities for kids on a blue carpet.
