11 Red Carpet Outfits That Have a Fascinating Backstory

While admiring the way celebrities look on the red carpet, we don’t even think sometimes how much effort it takes to get prepared for these events. For example, more than 600 hours were spent to create Blake Lively’s outfit for the Met Gala 2018. But it’s not only about making a dress (even a stunning one), it’s also important to get to your destination and walk the red carpet to show the result of all your efforts to the world.

At Bright Side, we decided to find out the fascinating stories that stand behind the red carpet outfits of some famous women.

The fashion designer refused to dress Hayden Panettiere, so she just bought the dress she liked.

Even though in most cases fashion brands pay celebrities to wear their dresses during social events, or lend clothes for free, it’s not uncommon for celebrities to buy certain outfits. This happened, for example, with Hayden Panettiere. In 2014, the actress expressed a desire to wear one of Tom Ford’s creations during the Golden Globe Awards. But the brand representatives refused, saying that the designer had a rule of dressing only one celebrity per event, and it was Naomi Watts for that particular event.

However, Hayden was adamant in her desire to wear the dress she liked, and simply bought it. At the ceremony, the actress looked fantastic wearing the monochrome dress complete with side split and spaghetti strap halter-neck. And Tom Ford sent her flowers and a note the following day, saying that she had looked beautiful.

Cardi B’s gown needed its own 10-person entourage

It’s no secret that celebrities are often accompanied by 1-2 assistants during red carpet events. But Cardi B set a record. To walk the red carpet in her red gown with a huge trail at the Met Gala 2019, she needed an entourage of 10 people who patiently wrapped and unwrapped this trail. Of course, the gown became the reason for many Internet memes.

Elle Fanning fainted because her dress was too tight.

One of the most beautiful guests at The Chopard Trophy event in Cannes, Elle Fanning, said later that she had fainted because her 1950s Prada prom dress was too tight.

Blake Lively hired a bus to transport her dress.

In 2018, Blake Lively stunned everyone when she made her Met Gala appearance wearing an incredible custom-made dress covered in tiny rhinestones, designed by Versace. The dress was so elaborate that it took the dress’ designers 600 hours to embroider the dress alone. And to get to the event, the actress had to hire a party bus.

Selena Gomez couldn’t eat because of the cut of her dress.

In 2020, Selena Gomez attended the Hollywood Beauty Awards wearing a blush pink dress by Patou. The dress looked beautiful and quite simple when she was posing to the photographers, but when she sat at the table, it turned out to be not that comfortable as everyone might think. Her off-the-shoulder sleeves were so far down on her arms that she couldn’t lift them even to take a sip of water.

Keira Knightley’s dress split in half before hitting a red carpet.

Keira Knightly likes to play it safe and usually prepares a few dresses for an event. Once this habit of hers helped her out in a delicate situation. In 2005, right before Keira stepped on the red carpet, her dress split from the bottom to the top. But the actress changed her dress quickly, and posed in front of photographers as if nothing happened.

Kylie Jenner couldn’t zip her dress, so it had to be hand-sewn.

In 2021, Kylie Jenner stunned in a 1987 vintage Jean Paul Gaultier green dress at the 72nd Annual Parsons Benefit. Her dress fit like a glove. But it turned out that Jenner’s assistant had to sew the dress right on her body.

Bella Hadid was unable to take off her catsuit and go to the toilet.

In 2017, Bella Hadid attended the Met Gala wearing a crystallized full bodysuit by Alexander Wang, which was incredible as much as it was uncomfortable. The catsuit was so tight that Bella couldn’t visit a bathroom throughout the entire evening.

Lindsay Lohan was so afraid to ruin her dress that she sat most of the night.

Lindsay Lohan chose a cream satin dress by Versace with a flowing trail for her first Vanity Fair Oscar party in 2006. 16 years later, the actress revealed that that night was quite painful to her. Lindsay’s dress was so delicate that they had to stitch the back of the dress on to her. And she was so afraid to ruin it that she tried not to move for the entire night.

Anne Hathaway sneezed, and her dress split on the way to the event.

In 2014, Anne Hathaway stunned in a custom-made tight dress by Calvin Klein at the Met Gala. A few years later, the actress revealed that when she was a block away from her destination, she sneezed and her dress split. To fix her outfit, Anne had to stop at a nearby hotel and find a seamstress. But everything ended well, and the actress managed to arrive at the event on time.

Kim Kardashian had to lose 16 pounds to fit in the dress.

Kim Kardashian chose Marilyn Monroe’s iconic dress to wear at the Met Gala 2022. This sparkling translucent dress embellished with crystals was worn by Marilyn Monroe on John F. Kennedy’s birthday. This dress was acquired by Ripley’s Believe It Or Not Museum for a few million dollars, and it was almost impossible to get it, but Kim managed to do it.

The dress was sent to the celebrity on a private plane with security guards. And even though the replica that had been delivered to Kim a few days earlier fitted her, the original dress turned out to be too small. The only way out was to lose some weight before the event, and Kardashian had to lose 16 pounds in 3 weeks. All of this was done so that she had a chance to walk the red carpet and pose before cameras in the dress of her dreams, just for a few minutes. After that, the celebrity had to put on a replica dress, while the original dress was returned to the museum.

Did something similar ever happen to you? Tell us about it in the comments below.