Part of the electrifying excitement at the annual Academy Awards is the glitz and glamour that will dazzle the grand daddy of all red carpets.

Throughout Tinsel Town Saturday night, there is a flurry of activity as last-minute alterations are made to gowns and tuxes.

All the frocks, flashbulbs and finery can steal the spotlight.

And fashion flubs can make headlines.

There's nothing quite like Oscar's red carpet to make or break a designer's reputation and even the nominees are at risk.

"Terrifying: cameras and people. High heels and will I fall over? And all that. It's horrible, but I always have a bag I can grip onto," said Carey Mulligan, Best Actress Nominee.

One bad dress, the old saying goes, can lead to years of bad press.

"And I think the internet has stirred that even more because people can click thru the galleries and send picture e-mails to their friends," said Booth Moore, LA Times Fashion Critic.

Fashion writer Booth Moore says Oscar fashion has become a bigger deal over the past decade.

"It's really sort of a spectator sport at this point. It's like football or baseball," said Moore.

Designers compete with each other to give away gowns.

"It's advertising. As a young designer we don't have the budget to advertise so that is our form of advertising," explained Jason Wu, a fashion designer.

Jason Wu is one of a new generation of designers reaching the red carpet.

"This is the dress Diane Kruger wore to the SAG awards this year," said Wu, "You know it used to be a lot more difficult for young designers to have the opportunity to dress somebody on the red carpet."

The academy wants to encourage young talent by staging a competition with the winner determined by the public voting online, and the winning design is set to appear on the Oscar telecast.

But, traditional principles still apply:

"Less is more. Less is always more because, it's much more difficult to go wrong," said Moore.

This year look for designers to go right for pale colors and plenty of corsets.

"Because you know they are sexy and they shape the body and they hold everything in!" joked Moore.

Oscar favorite Sandra Bullock is determined not to panic.

She told one reporter, "If I have to wear a trash bag, I will belt it with rhinestones and make it work." Sandy Kenyon