“I’m wearing tree fiber underwear now!” Meeting with Oscar bag organizers Oscars 2026

IIt has now been 20 years since the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences discontinued the official Oscars gift bag. Modest by today’s standards, this bundle of gifts was subject to an unglamorous IRS crackdown on taxation of its contents, which viewed it as non-monetary compensation.

But no sooner had that been done away with than a wave of benevolent gift barons swooped in to take their place. This week Hollywood has seen a frenzy of secret and intense gifts, with rooms in luxury hotels and spas being taken over as gift suites for A-list celebrities who will be squeezed in with expensive items in the hopes that these stars will mention them on their Instagram feeds.

The most notable giveaway in town is Lash Vari, founder of Distinctive Originals, which rains expensive goodies on the deserving and undeserving alike at award ceremonies like the Grammys and the Academy Awards.

I visited him at a spa off Sunset Boulevard, where gifts were laid out on a table: a fancy T-shirt bearing an anti-ICE message. A state-of-the-art electric flosser. A fully customized prenuptial agreement from divorce attorney James Sexton. An A4 envelope containing details of a stay in a villa in Costa Rica worth $30,000 and another in Ibiza worth $65,000. Shiny “water pitcher”. Five different cannabis brands (legal in Los Angeles, but can’t be shipped out of state).

“The whole bag is worth just under $350,000 per person,” says Farry, referring to the luxury luggage items that are used to deliver items, as well as being part of the swag. One is labeled “Michael B. Jordan,” and the other is labeled “Kate Hudson.”

Each Everyone Wins goody bag is delivered directly to the lucky talent; They don’t have to go to the spa. “They should do nothing,” says Farry. “They’re just enjoying the spoils. Rose Byrne wanted it shipped to New York, so it’ll be waiting for her when she gets back home to Brooklyn. Sometimes, they’ll want to hand it over under whatever alias they’re staying at the hotel. The last time Rachel McAdams was nominated, she happened to be in her manager’s office having a meeting when she saw it being wrapped and said, ‘Is this my gift bag?’

In fact, not everyone wins. The bags are handed out to the 20 acting nominees, five shortlisted directors, and host Conan O’Brien. Cinematographers, editors, screenwriters and others have to do without them.

Vari says they are not obligated to cross-advertise. “If they don’t post a single thing, that’s OK. I’ve been doing it long enough that we used to get a handwritten thank you note, which is nice.”

“The best case scenario is overexposure to social media,” he says. “When Viola Davis went on the trip we gave her to Hawaii, she posted pictures on Instagram. Last year Amy Adams was nominated, she put on the shirt that was in her bag and went to the gym the next day.” Farry takes a moment to sing the praises of a few sought-after items in this year’s bag, including a pair of “metallic underwear” (starting at $32) made from tree fibers and the mineral zinc oxide: “Really lightweight and breathable! I’m wearing these now!”

Like Farry, Natalie Dubois, of Dubois Belin & Associates, has been in the gifting industry for two decades. “Celebrities have it all,” she says. “So you want to arouse their curiosity. You want to surprise them.” Its stocks in the trade are traditional luxury brands, rather than, as is the case with Fary, smaller, selective brands that it pays him a fee to list.

In her case, you have to do it in person. “We introduced diamond watches at one point,” she says. “We do big, expensive things. We had Gucci and Fendi. We had Chloé sunglasses. We started with Chopard in 2005 when it wasn’t as popular. We still have Lancôme.”

Celebrities get to pick up their swag in person; No delivery allowed. She rents five hotel suites and a garden in the upscale suburb of Brentwood. “We chose this location strategically. It’s in the hills, so we don’t have a lot of losers knocking on our door. You have to pay for parking, so they hesitate.”

Gifting to broken-hearted people is fairly common, she says. “Oh my God. We’ve had people impersonating stars – but they’re not getting away with it. We’ve had sex workers at the door, introducing themselves as actors. We’ve had large groups arriving in sunglasses and claiming to be in the cast of the ‘new season’ of an existing show. We’ve had a man climb the back wall into the garden.”