This Sunday the red carpet rolls out for all the Academy Award stars and hopefuls, so I can’t resist sharing this blogpost from Doris Leslie Blau, a rug gallery in Manhattan that sells antique, vintage, contemporary and custom rugs:  “5 Oscar-Worthy Red Carpets.”

The folks at Doris Leslie Blau selected “a handful of A-list textiles,” including “Best Geometric Design,” a modern Swedish flat-weave design (at left).

Then there’s “Best Persian Picture,” a late 19th century Sultanabad rug on an ivory field (below right).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

For glamour, there’s this French Art Deco rug (at left) signed by modernist architect Jacques Adnet. The folks at Doris Leslie Blau cite the old-Hollywood appeal of its scalloped frame and center design, and opine that those “who walk across it are inclined to start feeling ready for their close-up.”

Could be a winner in the foreign language category…

 

There’s also an American rag rug with an all-over diamond pattern (at right) — “a clear audience favorite,” the blogpost says.

Last year, Doris Leslie Blau’s blog delved into the history of the red carpet tradition, in a post amusingly headlined “Before the Oscars, a look at how big red became the thoroughfare of modern royalty.” Read that whole post here.

The red carpet was added to the Oscars in 1961, according to the post, which cites the Academy of Motion Pictures’ Margaret Herrick Library’s Linda Mehr as its source. Five years later, when the broadcast switched to color, the rosy hue of that famed walkway was clinched.

Little wonder. “Red is the color of blood and power. Cheerful, robust, vibrant, strong – a bold, red textile can imbue a bit of glamour and stateliness into any space, even if there’s no chance of Brad or Angie crossing the threshold.”

These days, the red carpet that will be stretched out for the stars at the Dolby Theatre is 600 feet long. And it will be freshly vacuumed on Sunday.

Jennifer Lawrence at the Oscars in 2013, via Doris Leslie Blau, via Gloss.

 

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