There are some fundamental truths in the world: The sky is blue. The grass is green. The Oscars red carpet is re — champagne-coloured. Jimmy Kimmel, this year’s host, joked at the unveiling on Thursday that the colour change — the first time in more than six decades that the academy’s arrival rug will not be red — had been prompted by Will Smith slapping comedian Chris Rock across the face onstage at last year’s ceremony.

“I think the decision to go with a champagne carpet rather than a red carpet shows just how confident we are that no blood will be shed,” he said. Oscars organisers said they wanted the rug to be mellow, like a beach at sunset. The 50,000-square-foot rug, which was created in a colour chosen by the academy, is the latest in a trend of colourful carpets sweeping premieres, galas and award ceremonies across the country, from the Emmys (gold) to the Golden Globes (grey) to the purple-carpeted world premiere of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever in Los Angeles in November.

“Every year, a new colour will be a hot colour,” said Steve Olive, the president of Event Carpet Pros, the company that has manufactured the carpet for the Oscars for more than 20 years, as well as events on both coasts like the Golden Globes, the Emmy Awards, the Grammy Awards and thousands of movie premieres. “This year seems to be a lot of lavender.”

For the Oscars production team, which chose the champagne colour, the priority was a light, “soothing” colour that would not clash with the orange tent that will be erected over the carpet to shield attendees from the sun and potential rain.

“The sienna-colour tent and champagne-coloured carpet were inspired by watching the sunset on a white-sand beach at the ‘golden hour’ with a glass of champagne in hand, evoking calm and peacefulness,” she said.

Red carpets have been a staple at premieres and galas since 1922, when the showman Sid Grauman rolled one out for the 1922 premiere of Robin Hood at the Egyptian Theater in Hollywood. The Oscars adopted it beginning with the 1961 ceremony, and, ever since, the special shade — known as Academy Red — has been instantly recognisable in photos.

But around 15 years ago, at events across the country, producers began opting for more vibrant and varied fare, Olive said. “It’s important for us as creatives and producers to create visuals that stand out from each other,” said Keith Baptista, a partner at the creative agency Prodject, which handles design and management for events like the LACMA Art + Film Gala and the MoMA Film Benefit, and works with Chanel, Gucci and Ralph Lauren. “You want to be able to look at something at a quick glance and go, ‘That was the Met Gala’ or ‘That was Vanity Fair.’”

Mindi Weiss, an event planner who has worked with the Kardashians, Justin Bieber and Ellen DeGeneres, pointed to another consideration: How the carpet will photograph. Red, she said, tradition aside, is simply not flattering. “The colour of red carpets has changed because of fashion,” she said. “It has to match the dresses, and the red clashed.”

In fact, event planners say trends in carpet colours now correlate with trends on the runways. “It all goes back to fashion and style and trendsetting,” Weiss said. “The carpet should reflect the fashion that’s going to walk down it and not fight with it.”

New York Times News Service