Revealed: The jaw-dropping sum celebrity stylists make dressing A-listers for red carpets

Oscar's red carpet with Margot Robbie, Billie Eilish, Danielle Brooks
Oscar's red carpet with Margot Robbie, Billie Eilish, Danielle Brooks

On the Oscars red carpet, Hollywood’s best felt like a million bucks — but how much did they fork over to their stylists?

An anonymous source told Paula Froelich of NewsNation that a star can pay anywhere between $60,000 – $100,000 for a stylist to get them ready for a single event, including the Academy Awards — and that doesn’t even include the cost of gowns or accessories.

The eye-watering amount is more than what some tenured Hollywood stylists have been paid in the past.

“Stylists used to get $10k,000 a day and there were just a few of us,” Wayne Scott Lukas, who has styled Hollywood legends like Tina Turner and Janet Jackson told NewsNation.

“What’s changed is now everyone is a stylist — and undercutting people who actually know clothes and fashion.”

On the Oscars red carpet, Hollywood’s best felt like a million bucks. Billie Eilish was praised for her unconventional look. Getty Images
On the Oscars red carpet, Hollywood’s best felt like a million bucks. Billie Eilish was praised for her unconventional look. Getty Images
Margot Robbie rocked an elegant Versace number. It’s unclear how much she paid her celebrity stylist. Jay L. Clendenin/Shutterstock
Margot Robbie rocked an elegant Versace number. It’s unclear how much she paid her celebrity stylist. Jay L. Clendenin/Shutterstock

He claimed that the novice stylists “don’t have the relationships at couture houses” like longtime professionals do — even if they’re charging up to 10 times what a stylist made in the past.

Lukas also lamented the occasional “ugly fashion” that is brought to the red carpet due to the “commission” they get from designers that he would never dare take.

“They put celebrity power in their pockets and cut deals everywhere,” he explained.”They get free bags and dresses in exchange for putting their stuff on celebrities (on top of being paid by celebrities).”

He added: “If I took a gift or commission I lost my integrity to my client.”

Danielle Brooks dazzled on the red carpet ahead of the awards show. The star was widely praised as one of the best dressed on the night. Getty Images
Danielle Brooks dazzled on the red carpet ahead of the awards show. The star was widely praised as one of the best dressed on the night. Getty Images
Jennifer Lawrence brought pattern to the red carpet in a Dior ensemble that won praise from fashionistas. Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP
Jennifer Lawrence brought pattern to the red carpet in a Dior ensemble that won praise from fashionistas. Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP

Instead, he hopes clients learn to be more critical of the stylists they hire to dress them, claiming that newer stylists supposedly don’t work in the interest of clients, only for their own “financial gain.”

“When your creativity is based on transactions… the only winner is the stylist who got the money or the gift,” he added.