The red carpet phenomenon
Have you ever asked yourself why the greatest galas and great events cannot do without a beautiful, scarlet-coloredred carpet? Weddings of modern monarchs, the Oscars, the Golden Globe gala, the most important premieres, TED conferences, the official welcome of foreign political guests, leaving the planes ... All these events are accompanied by a red carpet and it seems that taking it or changing it to a different color would be synonymous with a decrease in the rank of the meeting. It would be like picking up a few Michalin stars for annually awarded restaurants or going to a 5-star Balinese SPA during a hotel renovation, also including a relaxation area. It is difficult to achieve a spectacular effect of an event without this red attribute, which is followed by the most outstanding VIPs.
The red carpet is synonymous with status, style and wealth
The red carpet evokes glitter and glamor. He distinguishes "ordinary mortals" from stomping movie stars, influential people, famous politicians and royal families. It is an inseparable symbol and an important introduction to events that are widely echoed around the world. Why red, and not, for example, gold or gray carpet? Is it because scarlet dye is one of the most difficult and expensive to obtain? To answer this question, we need to delve a bit into history.
The story of the first red carpet
In its earliest known incarnation, the red carpet was not intended for ordinary people, but only for the gods. Walking on the scarlet carpet was synonymous with offending the gods and the death of the daredevil. The path of dark red tapestries was traced in ancient Greece, in the play by Aeschylus Agamemnon. As the vengeful wife of King Clytemnestro prepares to greet her husband in triumph from the Trojan War, after which she plans to kill him, we read:
“… But don't put your feet on the ground, lord, conqueror of Ilion. The servants… with a carpet, cover the ground before the lord. Let the road ahead be purple ...".
At home, Agamemnon will die at the hands of his wife, although she greets him with words of devotion. Moments later, she invites him to a solemn climb on the red carpet. The ruler enters the house after it, and the red is a symbol of blood. Agamemnon follows a symbolic road filled with blood that leads to death.
Though he hesitates to follow the "crimson path" that has been set for him because he is a "mortal, human," rather than a god, he does so and soon dies at the hands of an insidious wife. Therefore, the one who manages to walk without death on the red carpet is elevated to the rank of god.
The red carpet and its relationship with the cinema
"It's interesting that the red carpet has become synonymous with movie stars who, in a sense, have become today's kings," says Sonnet Stanfill, senior curator at the Victoria & Albert Museum, in an interview with BBC Culture. The red carpet is the central theme of the modern Oscar experience and the foundation of today's award ceremonies. There is a certain synergy with the red carpet that has traditionally welcomed royalty and now welcomes royal movies.
It wasn't until the 1922s that the red carpet and Hollywood became synonymous. In 1961, a long, crimson rug was rolled out in front of the Egyptian theater for the Hollywood premiere of Robin Hood starring Douglas Fairbanks. Then, in 1964, the red carpet was presented at the Oscars at the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium. A few years later, the broadcasters of the ceremony decided to film outside the venue, showing guests arriving disembarking from the limousines. From then on, in XNUMX, the red carpet became an internationally recognized focal point for actors and actresses to make a grand entrance and present themselves at the Academy Awards.
In turn, the nineties marked the beginning of an extremely strong relationship between the red carpet and fashion. The costumes wearing celebrities go down in history and are often exceptional moments of a bold display of pride, self-confidence, extravagance, provocation and individuality. They are also an introduction to another world and the beginning of a career.
Design and copyright, CARPETS & MORE Magdalena Świerlikowska