Hollywood Strike a Boom or Bust for Fashion? – WWD

This is the end of the red carpet – for now.

The star-studded cast of “Oppenheimer” exited its London premiere on Thursday night, as Hollywood went on strike at midnight in its biggest labor rally since 1960.

Makeup credits are still out. Florence Pugh wore a fiery red Valentino gown, and Cillian Murphy wore a menacing black suit, see-through shirt, and bolo tie from Saint Laurent. But they may be the last celebrity red carpet dressing communiqués from luxury brands for a while.

On Friday, the actor joined writers in shutting down Hollywood with unions taking action against streaming service payments, the future use of AI in productions and more.

The strike meant talent couldn’t walk the red carpets of Venice and Toronto, take part in the Emmys For Your Consideration campaign or the upcoming Comic-Con convention. Negotiations, auditions, rehearsals and fittings are also prohibited, according to the SAG-AFTRA strike rules.

Lisa Rinna, who was scheduled to co-host the store’s opening party with Philipp Plein on Friday night in LA, was cancelled, presumably to avoid a party appearance with a high-profile designer on the first day of the strike, while the actors struggled for their livelihoods. . Over the weekend, SAG-AFTRA president Fran Drescher got into hot water for polishing it off with Kim Kardashian in an Instagram post from Dolce & Gabbana’s ultra-luxe Alta Moda show in Italy.

But the social vortex of celebrity fashion isn’t going to stand still.

According to industry sources, under the strike rules, actors can still carry out any commercial or fashion campaigns, and press the brand partnerships. But they can’t answer questions promoting TV or movie projects. Talents can go to events for fashion brands, to fashion shows, and to dinners, but any media inquiries at next week’s Givenchy cocktail party on Rodeo Drive, for example, need to be light and airy — or pertaining to theatre, musical projects, podcasts, or books.

Several luxury brands are holding events here in the coming days, including Givenchy and Hermès, and time will tell whether it becomes difficult to get talent to attend due to the optics (not to mention getting people to shop for Birkins, though Hollywood’s tallest rollers are unlikely to feel the financial pinch). ).

Stars hit the picket lines on Netflix, Amazon, Paramount, Disney, Fox and more, and perhaps, like the members of the Writers Guild of America who have been striking since May, their appearances will be documented on their Instagram style account @PicketFits. (It wouldn’t be surprising to see a tone-deaf PR boom go out about what they wear to the picket line.)

Most of Hollywood’s image-making machine will also be shut down.

Press tours were a no-go for “Haunted Mansion,” the film based on the Disney theme park ride, which promises to be a menswear bounty, starring Jared Leto, LaKeith Stanfield, Ryan Gosling and Owen Wilson.

Disney CEO Bob Iger calls union demands unrealistic. “This bothers me a lot. We’ve talked about the disruptive forces on this business and all of the challenges we’ve faced, recovering from COVID[-19] ongoing; it doesn’t fully come back. This is the worst time in the world to add to that disruption,” he told CNBC.

Without a big event to dress up for, many stylists would be out of work; people’s hair and makeup, too.

However, behind the scenes at the talent agency, the fashion deals are already accelerating.

Agencies negotiating commercial deals have been more active than ever in recent months, trying to open up new revenue streams for talent that are keeping film and TV revenues on the wane. The pressure is on to score big deals like United Talent Agency’s Timothée Chalamet Bleu de Chanel ambassador, and land more creative roles at brands, like Pharrell Williams at Louis Vuitton and Future at Lanvin.

Without a job in the near future, a client who is selective in the brand space may be more likely to make a deal and attend a fashion show. After all, while the strike rules prevented talent from promoting projects, they had nothing to say about promoting themselves. Giving interviews about everyday beauty regimens or love for dogs may suddenly become a lot more interesting (and the media will need the content). There may be a return to the pandemic era, social media fashion shoots at home too. And all promotions-wise it’s been shot embargoed, so the magazine’s September cover pegged to film and TV can still work.

Fashion and Hollywood could be more comfortable if the rumors first reported by Bloomberg are true that Kering CEO François-Henri Pinault is taking a majority stake in Creative Artists Agency, the agency that represents his wife Salma Hayek.

Luxury group Kering already has a foothold in Hollywood as a major sponsor of the Cannes Film Festival, with its Women in Motion program featuring female actors, filmmakers and producers. The Gucci brand Kering is a longtime sponsor of the LACMA Arts + Film gala in LA, and Saint Laurent recently launched a film production subsidiary led by artistic director Anthony Vaccarello, releasing “Strange Way of Life” by Pedro Almodóvar, starring Ethan Hawke and Pedro Pascal .

CAA declined to comment, Kering denied any involvement by the group, and a spokesman for François-Henri Pinault and his investment firm Artémis declined to comment. But if a deal is done, CAA’s clients are likely to land deals and campaigns for the Kering brands.

Of course, WME has been in fashion since 2013, when the agency purchased IMG Worldwide and its runway events, including New York Fashion Week.

WME’s newly organized fashion division brings together the areas of corporate representation and management with its events business. When the spring 2024 show rolls around in September, stars may find they have more time to present—or even design. Get ready, Angelina Jolie has prepared her first collection with Chloé.