The red carpet has historically been the spot for celebrities to strut their stuff and flex their fashion muscles. Whether arriving at the Met Gala or attending a movie premiere, celebrities live for the red carpet.
Not only is it the perfect place to flaunt, but it also provides ample opportunity for political statements and interesting fashion fodder. Have a look below and check out these red carpet outfits with backstories people didn’t know.
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Cardi B’s 2019 Met Gala dress required a 10-person team to help carry the train.
It’s not very often that you see a dress come with its own personal entourage . Cardi’s train was without a doubt one of the biggest in Met Gala history.
At the 2017 Academy Awards, Emma Stone wore a gold pin on her dress in support of Planned Parenthood.
Emma, and several other young actresses, did this as a sign of solidarity after the last political administration threatened to defund Planned Parenthood .
During the 2015 AMAs, Amber Rose and Blac Chyna took a stand against slut-shaming and wore nude bodysuits, emblazoned with misogynist insults.
Both Amber and Blac Chyna used only the words that had been hurled at them in the past.
Selena Gomez couldn’t eat during the 2020 Hollywood Beauty Awards due to the cut of her pink Patou dress.
The cut of the dress was so limiting, that Selena couldn’t even lift her arms to take a drink of water.
Elle Fanning fainted at the Chopard Trophy event in Cannes because her Prada prom dress was too tight.
“Oops,” Elle wrote via her Instagram. ” Had a fainting spell tonight in my 1950’s Prada prom dress but it’s all good!
Spike Lee’s purple and gold suit that he wore to the 2020 Academy Awards was a tribute to Kobe Bryant.
Purple and gold are the team colors of the LA Lakers, and 24 was Kobe’s jersey number. You can tell how much Kobe meant to Lee, especially considering that he’s a diehard Knicks fan .
On her way to the 2014 Met Gala, Anne Hathaway sneezed and split her custom-made Calvin Klein dress.
“I was about a block away from the Met, and I was like, ‘Wow, this is amazing,'” Anne told Stephen Colbert. “‘Ah-choo!’ And I sneezed and my dress split .”
Bella Hadid’s Alexander Wang catsuit was so tight, that she couldn’t go to the bathroom during the 2017 Met Gala.
Bella explained to Harper’s Bazaar that the reason she wasn’t able to go to the bathroom was that she had to be sewn into the dress from the top .
Joaquin Phoenix wore the exact same Stella McCartney tuxedo throughout the 2020 awards season to promote sustainable fashion.
In total, the Oscar-winning actor wore the same tuxedo to five different awards shows. Joaquin did so in an effort to help curb the fashion industry’s carbon footprint .
Travon Free wore a D&G suit jacket to the 2021 Oscars, lined with the names of police brutality victims.
“The most despicable thing a person can be is indifferent to other people’s pain ,” Free said during his acceptance speech. “So I just ask that you please not be indifferent.”
Octavia Spencer, Jessica Chastain (and many more) all wore black to the 2018 Golden Globes in support of the Time’s Up Movement.
The Time’s Up Movement, and later the #MeToo Movement, helped to forever change the landscape regarding the treatment of sexual harassment victims.
Lady Gaga’s 2010 “Meat Dress” that she wore to the VMAs was a protest against the military.
Lady Gaga was making a stance against the military’s “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy, as it pertained to the treatment of LGBTQIA+ peoples .
Blake Lively’s 2022 Met Gala dress was an ode to New York City.
The bodice of Blake’s dress was meant to symbolize the Empire State Building. The star constellations that adorn Grand Central Station were also included on the dress’ train.
Kerry Washington wore a safety pin on her dress at the 2017 SAG Awards to protest former-President Trump’s immigration rhetoric.
“I’ll be wearing one of these tonight,” Kerry wrote via Instagram. “On my arm. To show solidarity . We will not stop fighting for our safety & the safety of our fellow citizens and human beings,”
The gown Kim Kardashian wore to the 2022 Met Gala was once owned by Marilyn Monroe.
This was the exact same dress that Marilyn wore when she famously sang “Happy Birthday, Mr. President” to JFK. In 2016, the dress sold at auction for an astonishing $4.8 million — thus making it the world’s most expensive.
