The starlet was so desperate for a Tom Ford gown, she wore one off the rack — Quelle horreur!
Hayden Panettiere shocked the fashion world when she — gasp — wore an off-the-rack Tom Ford dress to the Golden Globes last month.
“[Ford] only dresses one woman per awards show,” a source says. “And he put a lot of effort into Naomi Watts’ dress, so all were surprised when Hayden walked the carpet in a Ford gown.”
Typically, a star’s stylists coordinate with a designer in advance to avoid such a fashion misstep. But the “Nashville” star wasn’t pleased with any of the gowns her first stylist pulled, so she hired a second stylist, who resorted to buying a Tom Ford frock straight off the rack.
Panettiere tells Alexa: “I simply fell in love with this particular look and made the purchase last minute. I felt great in it, and I was honored to wear Tom Ford.”
Insiders said that when Ford saw the petite actress wearing his mod black-and-white design on the red carpet, he was utterly stunned. (When E! host Giuliana Rancic asked Panettiere who she was wearing, the actress gushed: “Tom Ford. It’s the first time I’ve ever worn him, because I’ve been begging . . .”)
The designer, known to be very choosy about which starlets he dresses, eventually embraced the unexpected attention.
“Tom graciously sent [Panettiere] flowers because she was speaking so kindly about him on the red carpet.”
Le sigh!