All roads lead to the red carpet in Los Angeles, where, for the past few weeks, awards season has been working towards a crescendo, ie. — the Oscars this Sunday, Feb.28.

Just as important as that red carpet moment is for the actress or actor,  it is for the designers who dress them; from the dress to the shoes to the baubles for the big night.

With all eyes on Hollywood, it’s a photo opportunity that can have a major impact on  designers and their business.. With the conversation around celebrity dressing at a peak in the leadup to Sunday, CFDA.com sat down with Irene Neuwirth – herself no stranger to red carpet moments – at her Melrose Place flagship. Over Alfred Coffee and Croft Alley’s housemade yogurt with artful chlorophyll swirl, Neuwirth discussed the changing climate of celebrity culture and fashion and what effect those star turns really have.

“Celebrity placement is obviously a very important part of business,” Neuwirth said. “When I first started, I really wanted to dress people and it was an exciting thing when we got to dress someone going down the red carpet. Now I feel like we’ve created a nice following that’s increased our brand awareness and in return, our sales.”

Neuwirth named Julianne Moore’s green moment ­— emerald cuffs, earrings and rings at the Met Gala in 2013 — as her all-time favorite, but it was the Labradorite necklace that Amy Poehler wore on-stage as a host of the 2015 Golden Globes that showed immediate conversion. “When Amy Poehler wore that necklace to the Globes, we sold it before the night was even over,” the designer recalled.

Neuwirth’s deep involvement and profile in the Los Angeles community – fashion and otherwise – has undoubtedly played a role in her brand’s red carpet success. ”The great thing is that I’ve made a lot of friends living in Los Angeles who are in the [entertainment] business; my boyfriend’s in the business,” she said of longtime partner Phil Lord, a director. Another advantage: Neuwirth’s Melrose Place store not only showcases her collection, but also serves as a direct and convenient line to stylists for pulls.

“We have  great relationships with stylists and at the same time, we pick out someone we like maybe each season, who’s super-adorable, and who seems on-brand for us,” Neuwirth said.

This season, that is up-and-coming British actress Bel Powley. “We’re not at all looking to dress everyone,” Neuwirth said. “We want to dress a few people, and want it to be really tight and curated.”

Additionally, jewelry should stand on its own in red carpet moments and not be mixed with the work of other jewelers – an exceedingly harder feat to accomplish.

For jewelers like Neuwirth, there are other challenges with awards season. Apart from wanting jewelry to have its very own moment when possible, jewelry is often considered the finishing touch to a red carpet look,  “an afterthought in a way in that it comes last,” according to Neuwirth, who explained why she rarely creates custom pieces for awards shows. “The stylists first work on the dress and maybe the dress will change at the last second, which makes it really hard for us.”

More complicated even are the all-too-real high-stakes sponsorships that large labels and big jewelers are offering to secure nominees and bold-faced names. “I can understand, from an actor’s or stylist’s point of view, why it’s very appealing to get a big paycheck just to wear something really basic down the red carpet,” Neuwirth said. “That seems like a no-brainer. But as a designer, “it’s really frustrating because I find that it strips the excitement out of watching [the red carpet fashion]. There’s not that great fashion moment anymore, where you are excited to see what people are wearing.”

A smaller line like hers, she said, can’t compete with the big brands on Oscars night.  “For us, we work hard with the Golden Globes and the Emmy’s, the SAG Awards and the Independent Spirit Awards, but the Oscars, we can’t touch it,” she said. “I think people think, ‘I can wear a $10 million necklace from Harry Winston and when else am I going to do that with a guard.’ There’s something kind of sexy about that.”

And yet, the appeal of that seminal red carpet moment remains. “We’re happy to dress people during the other times and if some fluke happens and we can dress someone great for the Oscars,” she said, “we’ll take it.”

Editor’s Note: L.A. Stories is a recurring series that spotlights Los Angeles-based CFDA Members discussing how operating out of the City of Angels has helped shape their business with unique opportunities.