Red carpet rolling is an old tradition that could be seen through various instances for both good and bad in our history. Throughout history, red carpets have been seen to lead luminaries to momentous events, both good and bad. But this question is very prominent in thinking that when did this tradition start. Have you heard the fascinating and beautiful story behind this?
As you go through the post, you will learn when the red carpet tradition started. In the later post, we will trace back the instances which will tell us the real reasons behind this beautiful tradition.
History
This tradition started when a play-writer, Aeschylus wrote Agamemnon, in which King Agamemnon returned his kingdom ‘Mycenae’ after ten years of his absence after triumph from the Trojan war. By the time he came back, his wife Clytemnestra was pleased to see him, and she rolled out a red carpet, which was the first time the notice of such a thing came upfront.
Another example came in the 1800s when the 5th USA president, James Monroe, was welcomed with a red carpet by his welcoming party when he came down from a riverboat in Georgetown, SC. After disappearing for quite a long time, it started again in the 1900s by New York Central Railroad, which rolled the red carpet as part of the first-class service on its 20th-century limited train. All the luxuries and striking pathway for the passengers is generally credited as being the inspiration for the statement “red carpet treatment.”
The tradition
This tradition opted during the Oscars night as well when the stars of the night had to be guided from their cars to the Santa Monica Civil Auditorium in 1961. This tradition was very significant in Academy awards as they had to make it a lavish affair. By 1964, the Hollywood actor’s exterior shoot also started along with red carpets as the producers had already sensed the public interest.
But all this changed upside down, when Hollywood stars started using red carpet as an opportunity to expose and gain publicity by showing their fashion sense on the red carpet. With the collaborative introduction of people magazine, the red carpet award show was transformed into a fashion runaway that was so easily accessible.
In the 1990s, red carpet evolved again when Joan and Melissa began the covering of pre-award fashion show with the 1994 Golden Globes Award; the reporters started asking a repetitive question, “Who are you wearing”?
We hope you understood from where and when did the tradition of red carpets start. History of the red carpet is fascinating, isn’t it? This is quite a significant question in itself. Well, next time when you watch any red carpet event, you can proudly say you know the history behind it.
