Oscar TV host to wear most expensive dress ever

An American television presenter will shimmy along the red carpet at this year’s Oscars ceremony wearing a €4m diamond-studded dress - and watched closely by an armed security guard.

E! Entertainment host Jules Asner has been picked to wear the coveted dress which is believed to be the most expensive ever made.

The gown, made by top Hollywood designer Anne Bowen, has been created using 5,000 specially cut diamonds.

Asner said: ‘‘I’ve been a fan of Anne’s designs and am honoured to wear her latest creation.’’

The extravagant outfit guarantees Asner, and Bowen, a blitz of global publicity.

No photographs of the dress have been released prior to the March 24 show and it has become a talking point in the American fashion industry.

Asner will be on the red carpet at the Hollywood theatre where the ceremony takes place presenting a pre-Oscar show from early afternoon.

She will be accompanied by an armed guard for the day and the evening and the dress had round-the-clock protection while it was made in New York and Los Angeles.

After the Oscars, the gem-encrusted gown will be auctioned and half the proceeds given to a children’s charity.

Bowen, who has designed dresses for clients including Catherine Zeta Jones, Cindy Crawford, Elizabeth Hurley and Kim Cattrall, is renowned for using precious and semi-precious stones for her one-of-a-kind evening dresses.

She said: ‘‘I’ve always had a Zen approach to the Oscar dressing process. The gems used on my gowns emit energy so that the overall feeling the wearer gets is one that will enhance her inner beauty and confidence on that very important night.’’