And the envelope design contract went to … Marc Friedland!

The L.A. designer won the right to give the Academy Awards envelopes – and announcement cards declaring the winners – a makeover. But convincing the Academy to toss its long-used plain white envelope for a glowing gold one wasn’t easy.

Friedland, whose Marc Friedland Couture Communications on Venice Boulevard in the Mid-City area creates high-end invitations and other keepsakes, wasn’t a fan of the nondescript Oscars envelope always seen on the show. So he pitched his idea of crafting a one-of-a-kind envelope to officials of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. The academy was skeptical about chucking the envelope that’s been used for 70 years, he said.

“They said, ‘It’s not broken, so why fix it?’” Friedland said. “I said, ‘Let me show you what I can do.’ ”

So Friedland, 51, drew up a sample envelope and announcement card, and the Academy voted him a winner. His gold envelope is watermarked with Oscar statuettes and is lined with a red lacquer that features hand-stamped, gold leaf foil Oscars. The card is a heavy piece of red lacquer paper. The award category is printed on the back.

“We took our cues from wanting to create something that was in a style of Hollywood regency: art deco,” Friedland said. “We wanted something that would be timeless, but also very modern.”

Friedland spent two-and-a-half weeks before the show making the hand-crafted envelopes and cards. He had to create envelopes for every nominee in each category because only a select few accountants at PricewaterhouseCoopers know the winners.

Friedland declined to comment on how much the academy paid for his creations, saying the envelopes are priceless.

There are other perks, though. Friedland, who’s done work for Oprah Winfrey, Brad Pitt and Tom Hanks, was set to walk the red carpet and attend Sunday’s star-studded event.

But an even bigger bonus: Friedland said designing the Oscar envelope has been a milestone of his 25-year career.

“This one envelope has changed the face of my business tremendously,” he said. “It’s putting the company in front of millions of people.”