It’s hard for the outspoken Fashion Police star Kelly Osbourne to say or do anything that will shock us anymore (hello, remember this scalp tattoo?), but when she dishes on what goes on behind the scenes of her grueling red carpet season, we pay attention. Osbourne and her stylist Caley Rinker interviewed each other for The Thick, and here’s what we got from their totally candid convo…
The Thick/Michael Brager/GC
• She’s not scared to dish it out — because she used to take it
“I’d like to believe I’m not mean, just honest,” says Osbourne. “I lack what most people have, and that’s an editor. I really wish I could have one, but it’s a blessing and a curse. I’m sorry if the truth hurts, but that’s not my fault.” Perhaps her ability to be straightforward comes from building up a thick skin: “I know what it’s like not knowing what to wear and feeling gross because nothing fits. I never was lent clothes until I lost weight.”
• She won’t let her stylist dress her, in the literal sense
“I won’t let you dress me! I don’t understand it; I’m not on Downton Abbey and I don’t have a chambermaid. It’s weird,” she says to Rinker. “…You don’t have to physically put my clothes on. I’ve seen people use their stylist’s head as an armrest when they’re putting on their shoes. It’s disrespectful.”
• She had a major wardrobe malfunction before last year’s Golden Globes… and we all missed it
Her stunning black and gold gown from the 2014 awards was a memorable fashion moment. “That was the first time I ever wore Escada,” she recalled. “I caught myself being one of those designer snobs; I never look at tags, but when you first told me the brand, I said, ‘What are you, nuts?’ And then it ended up being one of my favorite dresses that I’ve worn in my life.” But, according to Rinker, it wasn’t smooth sailing getting ready: “…Five minutes before you were supposed to be on camera at last year’s Golden Globes — which was our first major red carpet together — your zipper completely broke.” Adds Osbourne, “A lot of these gowns are constructed so quickly that by the time a zipper is added, there’s no effort being put into it. But we always make it work.”
• She just started wearing thongs
Osbourne credits Rinker with teaching her to her take risks, and not only ones that we could see. “You got me to wear things I’d never worn before,” she says to Rinker. “You were the one who started making me wear a thong!” Says Rinker, “I said it was like a seatbelt: The more you wore it, the more comfortable it would get. And you were like: You’re a f—ing liar! I also remember telling you, ‘Kelly, it’s hot, and we have to figure out what to do with the gowns.’”
• She tends to overdo it with the deodorant, and it gets a tad dangerous
Call it nerves, but Osbourne seems to fear perspiring on the red carpet almost more than having to interview the celebs! “By the end of last year’s award season I had burning armpits because I used a medicated deodorant that stops you from sweating,” she reveals. “The instructions said to ‘apply lightly,’ but I would just throw it all over my arms and the next day I’d have second degree burns.”
• She can’t find anything to wear this awards season!
Like Jessica Chastain, who claimed earlier this week she doesn’t know what she’s wearing to the Golden Globes this Sunday, Osbourne’s still searching for great gowns to hit the red carpet in. “I’m in a bit of a rut. I haven’t seen anything on the runways that’s made me say, ‘Wow! That’s the one.’ It’s been a struggle to find something original and breathtaking. In the end, I think it’ll be more about fit than originality.”
For more from Osbourne and Rinker, check out the whole story on the fashion industry blog, The Thick. Were you surprised by her revelations? What should she wear Sunday?
–Catherine Kast
