What do Hubert Lenoir, Kim Kardashian, Charles III and Pope Francis have in common? They’ve all walked a red carpet before. Reserved for guests of honour, this ceremonial and appearance carpet is a must for the decor of galas and major ceremonies. But where does this tradition come from? Why are we still rolling out the red carpet? Third text in a series of four.
Whether at Cannes or at the Oscars — or more modestly at the ADISQ and Gémeaux galas — it is above all for the queens and kings of showbiz that we roll out the red carpet these days. The tradition comes from very far away: originally, only the gods of Olympus could walk on these carpets, which cost a fortune to dye. From now on, Hubert Lenoir and Kim Kardashian, Pope Francis, Fouki, Ginette Reno, Billie Ellish or Charles III are in the ceremonious lineage of those who have walked on these red carpets.
“But I allow myself a question: where does this tradition of the red carpet come from? asked Isabelle Racicot in an interview with The duty, who wanted to know about her experience as a host for the ADISQ pre-gala. Mme Racicot is a regular on the red carpets, from Los Angeles to Cannes, from the Grammys to Gemini.
In recent history, we know that the red carpet reappeared in the United States in 1821 under the footsteps of President James Monroe. From there, it becomes a luxury classic again. It extends in the trains, in first class, then in the ceremonies and galas. The Oscars, which have existed since 1929, adopted it in 1961. Cannes, whose first edition took place in 1946, rolled it out for the first time in 1984.
Small red rug, small gray rug
Before ? It’s a story of color, the red carpet, woven with the evolution of pigments and dyes. “Red is the first color that man dominated,” said historian Michel Pastoureau during a conference at the Maison de l’histoire in Geneva in 2016. It is the noble color of fire, he explains. he, and that of blood. It is the queen of colors, the archetypal color. It will become the color of kings.
However, this rich red there is not the vivid scarlet we think of today. The tint was then extracted from marine molluscs called purples, of the genus murex. “A very wide range of shades could have been perceived and designated as “purple” by the ancients”, we read in The arts of color in ancient Greece… and elsewhere (Peters).
“In the present state of conservation of the archaeological textiles found in the dumps, [la pourpre] ranges from mauve gray to almost black purples, passing through purplish reds or bright pinks. »
The amount of work required to produce the color depends on the fishing history and the bisque recipe. Pliny the Elder said: “The precious liquid is extracted from the greatest purples, after removing the shell; the smallest ones, alive, are crushed with their shells; it is necessary for that that they disgorge their juice. An experiment conducted in 1908 concluded that 12,000 murex needed to be used to produce 1.4 grams of pigment.
Expensive to produce, this red purple quickly becomes synonymous with wealth and beauty.
Of purple, gold and red
Riches, kings and emperors will seize the purple to resemble the gods. Egyptian notables draped their dead in purple under Ramses II. In Roman times, purple fabrics gained popularity among women despite their prices. Julius Caesar (100-44 BC) even wanted to restrict its use.
There was a time when, in Rome, the emperor was the only one who could wear purple, who could dress in the red of his time. At least one is known to have been sentenced to death for defying this law.
Red is the first color that man dominated
Over time, the pigments evolve: botanical red is made with madder, insect red with kermes. But the great “democratization” of red stems directly from the colonization of the Americas, as VK Preston, professor at Concordia University, reminds us. In Mexico, another insect — the cochineal — attracts the attention of the Spaniards. Once crushed, the little insect gives a bright red, a fabulous carmine. It is still used today to color food and cosmetics. In the XVIIIe century, “collecting cochineal is collecting gold”, according to the naturalist Nicolas-Joseph Thiéry de Menonville.
Using tints and dyes to honor people comes from a rich and long tradition, as Mme Preston. And carpets are also part of a great European tradition of glory. “We brought them back as treasures and booty, from the Crusades, for example. It’s part of a long history of inequalities, ”says the specialist in the history of performance.
“The red carpet is honor,” sums up Diane Pacom, professor emeritus in sociology at the University of Ottawa. “Walking on this carpet sets us apart from others, from those who do not walk on it. It is a sign and a representation of a class, of social groups. And to walk on this carpet, you need attributes: being dressed a certain way, wearing a certain way — you’re not going to walk on it in flip-flops, no, you need pumps costing several hundred dollars! There was this transfer with secularization: the star system is also, symbolically, royalty, from which the tradition of red carpets derives. »
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And in Quebec? “It was my 39e ADISQ gala this year, out of 44. I remember my first ADISQ galas, at the Maurice-Richard arena: there was no red carpet,” says Johanne Lavoie, logistics director for cultural and media events. . “We were trying to create entrances a little glamour. We stood out with bollards and lights. But it’s been at least twenty years since we added the red carpets… I would say even more, thirty, “says the one who now also rolls them out for the Oliviers, the Geminis and Quebec Cinema, where our kings tread them. and queens of laughter and the screen.
Local elected officials and diplomats are also regulars on the red carpet.
In the National Assembly, there is no decorum guide to know who has the right to the carpet. “In general and according to our practices, the deployment is done during the official reception of a Head of State, a President of the Legislative Assembly or during a State funeral”, answered the direction of the communications . In the Protocol of the Government of Quebec, the usage is similar. Recently, the Secretary General of the International Organization of La Francophonie, Louise Mushikiwabo, was treated to the red carpet.
At Rideau Hall and the Governor General’s residence, the red carpet “is used for welcoming ceremonies with military honors during a state visit or a royal visit”. It is also used to “indicate to dignitaries where to stand to receive military honors and salutes dictated by protocol”.
The red carpet in literature
With Annabelle Caillou and Dave Noel