2007 New York Fashion Week在今天正式揭開序幕
除了各家報紙都有大篇幅報導及設計師新作評論外
版面中當然也少不了捕捉出席runway show名人身影的狗仔照
不過那些坐在runway兩旁首列座位的名人們
真的都是因為欣賞該設計師的才華...或是本身就是該品牌的愛用者...
才會選擇出席捧場嗎？
其實在大多數的狀況下
世界並沒我們所想像般的單純...
Catwalk Cash Stars Demand Pay, Perks For Front Row Seats
By Suzanne Kapner
Published : Febuary 5, 2007 / New York Post
After factoring in the cost of the clothes, the models, the lighting and the stylists, there is one additional expense that often goes overlooked, but can add tens of thousands of dollars to the cost of producing a runway show: the celebrities.
All that star power in the front row doesn't come cheap. Celebrities typically demand - and receive - first-class airfare and hotel accommodations, not just for themselves, but also for their entourage, as well as a shopping spree at the designer's store and, not infrequently, cold, hard cash.
Nicky Hilton is said to have pocketed roughly $30,000 for hosting the Macy's Presents Kiss & Tell party that benefited the American Heart Association last Thursday night, on the eve of Olympus Fashion Week, which runs through Friday.
Cate Blanchett was flown last month from New Orleans, where she is filming a movie, to Paris for the Giorgio Armani couture show by private jet.
Sources said that Rock & Republic offered $5,000 to $15,000 to lure bold-faced names such as Carmen Electra to last year's runway show. And Dolce & Gabbana paid Jennifer Lopez to attend its most recent runway show in Milan, these people continued.
No celebrity or fashion house will openly admit to trading financial favors for personal appearances, and most, including all those mentioned in this story, outright deny doing so.
But so-called celebrity wranglers who are charged with ensuring events have star power say privately that the practice is commonplace.
"The going rate for Fashion Week is $10,000," said one source. "But that depends on whether you'll have the celebrity exclusively, or whether they can attend other shows."
First-class airfare from Los Angeles is typically part of the deal. But the plane must have a true first-class cabin. "Business/first class is not good enough," this person continued.
While seemingly crass, the arrangement has clear benefits for designers. A celebrity sighting can create buzz and ensure that images of a designer's clothes are broadcast around the world.
Celebrity bookers, meanwhile, argue that stars have a right to be compensated for their time.
In some rare cases, designers really do draw the line. Donatella Versace had been talking to Lil' Kim about attending her fashion show several years ago, but promptly dropped the subject when the rapper suggested the two co-design a clothing line, two people familiar with the situation said.
There are, of course, many occasions when celebrities are truly friends with the designer or are interested in the clothes. Winona Ryder is close with Marc Jacobs and routinely attends his runway shows, sources said.
It's no wonder that designers are reluctant to discuss the subject. Any suggestion that purse strings are the main motivation behind a relationship can deflate a celebrity appearance faster than a high-pressure system can ruin a good hair day.
When Kate Bosworth, who was a runway fixture during the September shows, was asked why she was there, her response, according to a source, said it all: "Because they paid me."
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