Red carpet is somewhere in between stage and real life, but not completely one or the other. It is a glamourous show which makes us believe we could be close to the icons from TV screens. Red carpet is often even more important than the event itself, or in some cases, just catches more attention than the awards, movies, and premieres.
The looks on the red carpet are usually the subject of judgement from both public and critics, so we can only imagine how much time and effort it takes to get ready for one.
The first reference to red carpet was far from glamour, elegance or prestige that we attach to it nowadays, but no doubt it was a memorable event and memorable destiny. The first time we see a red carpet is in the tragedy called Agamemnon, written by Aeschylus, an ancient Greek tragedian, and the first time it was played was 458 years BC. It is in the moment after the big win in Troyan war that Agamemnon goes back home, and his wife meets him with the red carpet.
Agamemnon was disgusted with this and considers it a very unpleasant offer to walk on this carpet, which was connected to the concept called hybris which described a certain line between Gods and people. He considered it a privilege only Gods could have. Even though he took a big win in the war that lead to loss of lots of lives and made it back home over the ocean, Agamemnon does not think he deserves such an entitlement.
During that time it was really hard to make a red carpet, and he knew that. The fabric was colored using the secret of rare sea snail. It was needed around 12000 grinded snails to get just 1.4 grams of pigment, which was enough for coloring only one piece of clothing. Agamemnon was sure that Gods will make his verdict, but it was Clytemnestra who killed him in the bathtub because of sacrificing their daughter on the start of the war. Millenniums after that, red carpets were reserved to kings, emperors and popes and they were symbols of incredible wealth and god’s mercy.
What is interesting is that Agamemnon’s destiny did not discourage people to walk on it throughout centuries. The color of the red carpets today is adjusted to look good for the photos taken under the flashlight, and glamour of red carpet is nowadays available on multiple occasions, from proms to horse races.
We have chosen some of the materials from Textil selection that match the attractive pieces seen on red carpets.
