Celebs Expose Designers Who Refused to Dress Them – Inside the Ugly Side of High-End Fashion

These Hollywood A-listers have been sidelined from wearing high-end fashion designs for auspicious occasions over the years. Nonetheless, some of the stars have gone on to be fashion designers themselves.

The fashion industry in Hollywood is cut-throat because not every actor, model, or singer gets first preference when seeking an outfit for glamorous events.

The celebrities in this article spill the tea on their own unfortunate encounters of being snubbed by big brands. Even though they have different experiences, size seems to be a recurring issue.

ASHLEY GRAHAM

Supermodel Ashley Graham is one of the stars who were snubbed. She revealed to New York magazine that she even missed the Met Gala back in 2016 because no designer was willing to work with her:

“I couldn’t get a designer to dress me. You can’t just show up in jeans and a T-shirt.”

The 33-year-old is not the fashion industry’s standard model size being a size 18. Thus she has encountered resistance from the fashion industry.

For the event, Graham had been put "on hold" to attend the fancy red carpet (which means she probably would get invited but was waiting to find out for sure).

However, she eventually did not end up going to the event because she could not find a designer who could work with her in time.

However, the Nebraska native insisted it was not because of her size. Instead, it was because she had not made the right connections with designers at the time, and there was not enough time to get a custom piece tailored for her.

SINGER BEYONCE

While that may have been so for Graham, that was not the case with R&B superstar Beyonce. The Grammy Award-winner once admitted that many luxury brands were reluctant to dress the band during her Destiny's Child days.

“Starting out in Destiny's Child, high-end labels didn't want to dress four black country curvy girls, and we couldn't afford designer dresses and couture, the actress, recalled as she accepted a fashion icon award at the 2016 CFDA Awards.

OCTAVIA SPENCER

Oscar-winner Octavia Spencer spoke out about the challenging experience she had to find a designer to dress her for the Golden Globes Awards back in 2012.

Even though she was a nominee and eventually became a winner at the end of the evening. "I'm just a short, chubby girl," she told reporters at the time, adding:

It’s hard for me to find a dress to wear to something like this. It’s a lot of pressure, I’ll tell you. No designers are coming to me.”

MELISSA MCCARTHY

Comedienne Melissa McCarthy had a similar experience after being nominated for a Best Supporting Actress Oscar for her hilarious role in “Bridesmaids.”

Still, she also struggled to find a designer to dress her for the 2012 Academy Awards. Speaking on the unfortunate experience, she told Redbook that she had asked a few designers to help her out, but she was unsuccessful.

“Two Oscars ago in 2012, I couldn’t find anybody to do a dress for me. I asked five or six designers – very high-level ones who make lots of dresses for people – and they all said no," she revealed.

McCarthy eventually walked the red carpet in a rose-gold dress by plus-size designer Marina Rinaldi. The experience prompted the actress – who previously studied clothing and textiles at the Fashion Institute of Technology – to create her own fashion line to inspire women.

CELEBRITY BRANDS

McCarthy is one of the stars who decided to take the plunge and venture into the fashion business. She wasn't the only one; Beyonce also started her own clothing line.

According to Lyst, celebrities are the driving force behind some of the biggest brands of our time. The global fashion search platform analyzes the shopping behavior of more than 5 million shoppers monthly, focusing on their searching, browsing, and buying behavior across 12,000 fashion brands.

For 2019, Beyonce increased traffic to Adidas social media platforms and websites by 31%, thanks to her partnership with the brand. She is a creative director and codesigns pieces for Adidas.

The 39-year-old also launched her brand Ivy Park under the Adidas umbrella. Her partnership with the brand has helped the company climb higher in the Lyst Index, ranking top fashion labels.