LOS ANGELES?AFter the last trophy in the awards season was handed out, everyone in Hollywood heaved a sigh of relief.

Now the Spanx (a brand of undergarments) has been discarded by actresses in Hollywood Hills, and the tux shoved by the actors in the darkest corners of their closets.

LA-based Filipino-American designers Oliver Tolentino and Carlyn Nuyda Calloway also exhaled, fulfilled but sleepless, and very tired from all the drama and panic that came with making outfits for the series of awards shows, from the Golden Globes in January to last Sunday?s Academy Awards. It all sounds glamorous but the people admiring the gowns and tuxedos don?t see the high-stakes suspense and tension that accompany the task of making ensembles for the red carpet.

Carlyn of Bespoke by Thumbelina (www.thumbelinadesigns.com) had been working on the Oscar outfit of Cean Chaffin, one of the producers of the best picture contender ?The Social Network,? and the much-awaited ?The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.? The designer shared the challenge that Cean, who was also a producer of Brad Pitt?s ?The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,? suddenly gave her a few days before the Academy Awards. For Cean, Carlyn had finished what she described as ?a two-piece ensemble, a fitted formal evening jacket in silk brocade with jeweled buttons and floor length silk chiffon draped skirt.?

?Cean had been on the set of ?Dragon Tattoo? all day and night and I had to be on call for her fitting,? she said. ?I thought the outfit was all ready to go until Cean decided that she no longer wants to wear an evening jacket and wants something one-piece instead. Cean saw the skirt and loved it so much that she asked if I could make the skirt into an evening gown instead. So it was back to square one for me. I had to create a completely new gown for her in 48 hours.?

Making the cut

Carlyn, who also designs bridal gowns and accessories (she made Julia Roberts? tiara for her 2001 wedding), added, ?It got a bit crazy but I felt good about the challenge. I had faith that if it was meant to be, the dress was going to make the cut.?

?I was going to know only two days ago if Cean decided to wear my gown,? Carlyn said. She recalled the suspense: ?I was up against several big name designers?oh dear Lord!?

Carlyn described what she made in 48 hours: ?In keeping with Cean?s minimalist sensibilities, we fashioned an empire waist silhouette floor length gown with a nude silk charmeuse underlining and contrasting black silk chiffon overlay. Cean requested no beadwork, so we added a thin nude silk band at the empire waist as the gown?s only embellishment.?

She narrated, ?I did a final fitting with Cean in the evening, between shooting scenes of ?Dragon Tattoo.? The gown was pressed. Then I was going to deliver it at noon the following day to her home. Unless something out of this world happened. I thought the gown was lovely and simple, befitting a producer?s credentials. Not too foo-foo, as we leave that for the actresses instead.?

Last Sunday, Carlyn was thrilled. Cean arrived with her partner, best director nominee David Fincher (for ?Social??) on the Oscar red carpet wearing her (Carlyn?s) gown!

Last minute changes

Andrew Caruthers, the business advisor of Oliver, knows from experience the uncertainties of dressing up celebs for the red carpet. ?A high profile red carpet reporter was set to wear Oliver for the Oscars,? Andrew revealed. ?We even had a photo sent by the stylist of the woman in Oliver?s gown. The stylist confirmed that her client was wearing the gown so we felt comfortable letting you (this columnist) know about it in advance. But at the last minute, the reporter changed her mind. We found out only because we saw her at the event on TV in a gown with a different color. You can imagine the consequences if you had turned in your story.?

Andrew stressed: ?Even when we think that someone is likely to wear something by Oliver, it?s still just a 50-50 chance that the outfit will be worn. So we avoid announcing before an event that so and so will wear Oliver. It only sets us up for public humiliation if the outfit is not worn. Oftentimes, the reasons that a gown was not worn have nothing to do with fashion.?

He continued: ?On the other hand, it would be easy for a designer to claim beforehand to be dressing someone in order to maximize all the press coverage potential. If the woman ends up not wearing his gown and no one notices that, the designer still gets press credit. We don?t think anyone would do that, but there?s potential for that.?

Oliver (www.olivertolentino.com) disclosed the exciting, last-minute process that went into the making of the Golden Globe gown of ?Glee?s? Amber Riley. ?Amber?s stylist came to my Melrose boutique about two days before the Golden Globes because they still had not found the right dress,? he recounted. ?Amber had lots of gowns from designers to pick from but she just didn?t feel like she had the right one yet. The stylist loved my clothes and sent photos to Amber via his cell phone. She said she liked everything he sent. They asked me to make a gown in her size and I had Amber approve the fabric. I designed the gown and we made it in 24 hours. She tried it on for fit.?

Final fitting

Oliver continued, ?Because of the little time remaining, I went with the stylist to Amber?s house on the morning of the Globes to do the final fitting. Twenty-four hours after I designed the gown, Amber was wearing it on the red carpet. As they say, the rest is history. It was the first time that Amber ever made it to the best dressed lists, including that of Joan Rivers.?

He stressed, ?There?s no guarantee that your gown will be worn until you see a personality step out of the limo in your gown. Anything can happen on the day of the event?a spouse walks in, looks at the dress and he makes a face. She won?t be wearing that dress.?

Oliver brought up an interesting point: ?Believe it or not, a woman may be bloated on the day of the event and she can no longer fit in what is usually a very tight gown,? he said. ?The bloating is a real occurrence. A dress I made was going to be worn by someone who would meet the Obamas at the White House. But the person was unable to zipper up because of [her monthly period]. People forget that celebrities experience many of the same inconveniences that everyone else does. The fact that my ensemble wasn?t worn had zero to do with fashion.?

He cited some of the reasons: ?A woman may put on the gown and after 20 minutes in it, may find something uncomfortable about it. Or her child may run up to her and his sticky peanut butter and jelly fingers leave marks on the gown. Or she spills coffee on it while in the limo. That?s the end of that gown.?

Any one of those factors could explain why a talent switches gowns at the last minute. But, Oliver rued, ?it may seem that a personality hated the designer?s gown and picked someone else?s? even if that was not the case.

?You almost never hear any actress or celebrity say before an event that she?s wearing this designer or that she?s considering certain designers before an event,? he said. ?They understand it?s not fair to the designers and, of course, they also want the option to change their mind at the last minute.?

Dressing two Fil-Ams

Oliver disclosed how he came to dress up two Filipino-Americans at the Oscars?Matthew ?Matty? Libatique, who was a best cinematography nominee for ?Black Swan? and Gigi Dement, a producer of director Luke Matheny?s best live action short winner, ?God of Love.?

?Gigi and Matty were introduced to me a week before,? Oliver said. ?In the red carpet world, I had plenty of time and it wasn?t too hectic,? he quipped with a smile over what is obviously little time to come up with ensembles. ?I had fittings with both of them. I did some finishing touches to Gigi?s gown the day before. Gigi came from New York and, coincidentally, was staying at the SLS Hotel in Beverly Hills, which is a five-minute drive to my boutique. We dropped off her gown the night before at the hotel on the way home from the boutique.

?On the day of the Oscars, I got someone (Rod Alcover) to do Gigi?s hair and makeup. I offered to stop by her hotel to zip her up in the dress since her husband had to fly back to New York that morning. I like being a part of someone?s special day. I?ve always enjoyed that about weddings, too.?

Matty, on other hand, was coy about who he was wearing even late Saturday evening when he graciously returned our call for an interview about just winning the best cinematography prize at the Independent Spirit Awards. He wouldn?t confirm that he was wearing the tux especially made by Oliver for him. But he hinted that yes, he might wear something with a touch of the Philippines and of the Filipino in him.

On Sunday afternoon, Oliver was pleased to receive a call from Matty, telling him he was already in his tux and was heading to the Oscars. The designer echoed the sentiment of Carlyn, who exclaimed, ?Finally, I am going to get some sleep tonight. Thank you, Papa Dios!?

E-mail the columnist at rvnepales_5585@yahoo.com.