Mr Viral
“I always want to feel like myself on the red carpet—an elevated version of myself, but myself nonetheless,” Lupita Nyong’o recently told Vanity Fair. Since winning her first Academy Award in 2014, Nyong’o has constantly stood out on the red carpet, and for the Oscars 2025, she continues to give credit to her talented team. “The key to creating memorable style moments is to surround yourself with artists who are the best at what they do and give them the room to express themselves and work together collaboratively to come up with looks that feel authentic.”
And look after look, she still does not feel the pressure to outdo herself. “The minute it becomes like a responsibility is the minute it loses its luster. And I just love having the chance to be a princess now and then,” says Nyong’o.
For the Oscars 2025, Nyong’o worked with her longtime stylist Micaela Erlanger and the house of Chanel to create an unforgettable red-carpet look: a pleated ivory charmeuse gown with a resille bustier. The gown took 660 hours to construct and was made of 22,410 embroidery elements from silver crystal bugle beads and pearls. With pearl tassels and an ivory satin belt, the look was reimagined and inspired by Chanel’s haute couture spring-summer 1991 collection, which was worn on the runway by supermodel Linda Evangelista and styled with beautiful baubles from Chanel high jewelry including a Colibri bracelet worn in her hair, Signature de Perles earrings, Signature White Tie bracelet, a Motif Russe ring, and a Tweed Icône ring. “My look for tonight is quite pearly, I would say, and it feels like water. There’s a flow to it that I really love. And it feels very, very special. Very romantic.”
Lupita Nyong’o attends the 97th Annual Oscars at Dolby Theatre on March 02, 2025 in Hollywood, California.
Frazer Harrison
To top off the look, Nyongo’s longtime makeup artist Nick Barose continued using the ’90s as inspiration to play up her eyes and lips by adding pops of color with pearlized highlights. Barose used beauty products by Chanel, including the Ombre Essentielle eyeshadow in the shade Menthe á L’eau and the Le Rouge Duo Ultra Tenue liquid lipstick in Milky Blueberry.
Linda Evangelista walks the runway at the Chanel Haute Couture Spring/Summer 1990-1991 fashion show during the Paris Fashion Week in January, 1990 in Paris, France.by Victor VIRGILE/Gamma-Rapho.Getty Images.
Virgile Guinard
On this special night, Nyong’o reflects on the beautiful journey of being a part of The Wild Robot, which was nominated for best animated feature film. “When I started working on The Wild Robot, I could not have imagined that it would lead us to the Academy Awards. Animation is particularly different. It’s hard to tell what you’ve got because you’re not aware of all the pieces,” Nyong’o shares. “This [nomination] was a wonderful surprise to see what our collective efforts would lead to, the impact it’s had.”
An actor’s first time at the Oscars is something they never forget. And for Nyong’o, her life changed forever when she won the Oscar for best supporting actress for her role in 12 Years a Slave. The preparation for that day began with a massage, a gift from fellow actor Alfre Woodard, before getting ready with Barose, Erlanger, and hairstylist Larry Sims. Thinking back, Nyong’o reminisces about calming her nerves by dancing to “Grown Woman” by Beyoncé. “And then we sat down, and we went about it like we did every other red carpet—with passion and precision—and it was great,” she says.
Today, Nyong’o has mastered her getting-ready routine for the red carpet, which includes red light therapy, exercise, a warm and cold shower, and a good breakfast. “I try to rid myself of unnecessary energy wherever I can, and I try to protect my peace,” she says.
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