Addison Rae Gets Ready for the People’s Choice Awards

Moments before she was to walk onstage to present at Sunday night’s People’s Choice Awards, Addison Rae had a fashion emergency.

“So, I was sitting in the green room and I was like, ‘Oh, my mouth is kind of dry. Can I get a water please?’” Rae says. “And I got a water and spilled it on my dress.”

The 20-year-old social media sensation — 68.7 million followers on TikTok, 31.2 million on Instagram — rose to the occasion and handled it like a pro (after all, it was her phone in the other hand while drinking water that caused the spill — perils of the job).

“It was probably like five or seven minutes before I was going on stage to announce, my dress still had a huge water stain on it, and I had to just hold my dress when I walked out. I folded it over and covered it, because there was just not enough time to do anything about it.”

For the awards, which were held in person in Los Angeles (sans audience of course), Rae was dressed by stylist Siena Montesano in an archival Sophie Theallet red and black silk gown, Tiffany and Co. jewels and Jimmy Choo heels. For glam, she incorporated products from her own line, Item Beauty, into the look.

“I tried on a few different looks, but when I tried this red dress on, I absolutely loved it,” Rae says over the phone in the car on the way home. “And I think with the accessories, we kind of wanted to go more bold and something that stood out, and Tiffany was perfect for that. And then the shoes we got really, really high shoes, which were a little bit hard to walk in, but gave me a few inches, which I needed.”

Rae and Montesano started with the red gown, and from there decided to work in a red lip.

“I wanted something with color, for sure. And I think being able to match my lip with my dress was the perfect move for me. And I usually do more subtle colors, so the red was more bold,” Rae says.

Her usual sense of style is “pretty random” — she loves boots and anything casual — but for events and awards shows, she’s drawn to more of a glam look.

“I definitely like something that’s more sexy, but also still fun and flirty at the same time,” Rae says. “And then I usually try and get something that’s very classic that can’t really be outdated and then that’ll be timeless and look good for years to come.”

Fashion-wise she draws inspiration from Zendaya and Jennifer Aniston, saying that Aniston’s iconic looks from the Nineties are “a really cute look for every day,” while Zendaya “always has really cool, bold looks.”

Being at the awards show was a taste of normal pre-pandemic life, but Rae headed home as soon as she wrapped her presenting duties: she started shooting her movie, a remake of “She’s All That,” first thing the following morning.

“It definitely feels different because it’s not what it normally was or is,” she says of the awards night out, “but it’s still just as fun and exciting.”

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