[kimair]

continued...

In 1993 Sharon Stone got into a spat with Harry Winston over a £230,000 necklace she had worn. Winston asked for it back but Stone claimed it was a gift for wearing it in public. Winston took legal action and Stone returned the necklace but filed a £7-million breach of contract and defamation suit against Winston. The company settled out of court, giving a large amount to charity.

Harry Winston suffered another blow when Chopard swiped Charlize Theron and Hilary Swank from under its nose at last year's Golden Globes just 24 hours before the ceremony. The actresses were said to have received six-figure sums to defect. This kind of thing is no surprise to Kelly Cutrone who, before setting up her own PR company, worked for Bulgari. In 1999 she was trying to persuade Winona Ryder to wear a pair of diamond earrings to the ceremony, but was getting nowhere until she was told there was 'well over $100,000 available to help with celebrity procurement'. Ryder duly trotted down the red carpet in said earrings.

For actresses, wearing the 'right' jewels and designer dress is, increasingly, a savvy career move as well as a chance to make it on to the best-dressed pages. 'Most actresses are not actually that amazing-looking,' says Lisa Lawrence. 'They do their best to get in what we call model shape, but they're not 5ft 10in and size eight. The Oscars are the Super Bowl of fashion. Which designer an actress wears and how she looks can make or break her career for the next year.'

This explains the rise and the rise of the celebrity stylist, now as indispensable as the publicist, agent, trainer and manager. He or she charges accordingly - at least £3,000 a day, and £6,000 to find that Oscars dress. And many of this increasingly powerful cabal are on their way to becoming celebrities in their own right.

'Most of the stylists have worked in the industry for years,' says Mary Alice Stephenson, who as well as advising Liv Tyler is a contributing fashion editor at American Harper's Bazaar. 'Actresses are sent by their publicists. These stylists are known for their red-carpet looks. It's not, "Oh, be my friend. You look cool. Will you work with me?" You need a reputation behind you. You become one of the team that helps the actress's brand, because she is no longer just an actress - she is a brand name.'