What celebrities are paid to wear designer gowns on the red carpet.

Yep. It actually happens.

Remember the days when designers sent celebrities dresses for free to wear their creations on the red carpet?

Well… Those days are long gone and the ante has certainly been upped.

According to stylist to the stars Jessica Paster, celebrities can be paid up to $US250,000 ($A321,957.50) by designers to flaunt their wares at red carpet events.

Some of Paster’s clientele includes Cate Blanchett, Emily Blunt, Miranda Kerr, Sandra Bullock, and Rachel McAdams, so safe to say she knows her stuff.

The revelation was made at a recent panel conference, hosted by the Vulture festival in New York, which was filmed by AOL.com.

“Jewellery people are paying, shoe people are paying, tampon companies are paying, everyone is paying,” Paster said.

"It could be just paying the stylist and we get anywhere between $US30,000 to $US50,0000. Or it’s paying the actor something between $US100,000 and $US250,000."

But there's a catch.

Stars won't just wear any old design. Despite the amount of money that's on the line, Paster believes if the dress is downright ugly, the client won't wear it.

They are celebrities, after all.

That being said, designers paying for celebrities to model their wares is nothing new. In 2011, Anne Hathaway was forwarded a mammoth $750,000 by Tiffany and Co to sport their jewels, reports The Huffington Post.

And it's not even a concept that's particularly red carpet specific.

Glee actress Lea Michelle is said to have been paid $20,000 by Lacoste earlier in the year to wear their clothing to music festival Coachella, reports the New York Daily News.

Heck. Gwyneth Paltrow is even believed to have been slipped $15,000  to wear a pair of UGG BOOTS in the past.

We guess you just can't put a price on subliminal branding...

Let's mull over that while we look at this year's Oscars red carpet...

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