Since winning her first Academy Award in 2014, Lupita Nyong’o has constantly stood out on the red carpet. For the Oscars 2025, she wore a custom Chanel gown that landed her at the top of every best-dressed list.
But as they say, it takes a village, and for Nyong’o, 42, it starts with Micaela Erlanger, her longtime stylist who was also behind the Prada dress she wore to take home the 2014 statuette for her role in 12 Years a Slave.
They have worked together for over 10 years and fostered a rare star-and-stylist relationship. Each brings unmatched talent and taste to the table, leading to a close friendship behind the scenes. In fact, the Oscar winner was even a bridesmaid in Erlanger’s destination nuptials.
The amount of prep it took to create Nyong’o’s Oscars look was similar to that of planning a wedding. Nyong’o’s custom gown alone took 660 hours to create, 22,410 embroidery elements and three fittings to perfect.
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Meanwhile, Erlanger’s process began six months in advance. “When Lupita was announced as the new global ambassador for the house of Chanel, I got right to work,” the stylist told Us Weekly exclusively.
Erlanger didn’t waste a moment before requesting dozens of lookbooks from Chanel’s HQ in Paris. During her research, she unearthed a rare photo of supermodel Linda Evangelista modeling a look on the Chanel Haute Couture Spring 1991 runway. “Look 74, to be exact,” she diligently noted via Instagram, which immediately tells Us just how precise the stylist is when dressing her clients.
“There’s always an element of storytelling in Lupita’s looks, and this one is no different,” Erlanger said. Classic Chanel codes were woven into the ivory charmeuse dress featuring crystal bugle beads, pearl tassels and straps that poked out from a tweed corset with a satin belt.
Erlanger styled the dress with diamond and pearl Chanel high jewelry to deliver an extra layer of Oscars-worthy star wattage, 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.
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“This year, we wanted to channel effortless, classic elegance,” Erlanger told Us. “The design balances structure with fluidity, shimmering embellishments with an ethereal lightness.”
Yet, look after look, Erlanger does not feel pressure to outdo herself when it comes to fashioning Nyong’o for the Academy Awards, who set the sartorial bar in said Cinderella-worthy Oscars dress in 2004.
“That Prada gown was a magical moment — one that we’ll always cherish,” the stylist said. “But I think of it as an opportunity to keep evolving. Lupita is not someone who repeats herself, and neither am I.”
“Every year, we approach award season as a fresh canvas, asking ourselves, ‘What’s the story we want to tell?’ ‘What feels right for this moment in her journey?’” Erlanger continued. “If anything, that history pushes us to keep experimenting and finding new ways to surprise and delight.”
Erlanger found her answer in Evangelista’s 1991 Chanel Haute Couture look. The supermodel was the perfect reference for dressing the new Chanel ambassador, as she was also a longtime muse to the late Chanel Creative Director Karl Lagerfeld — and is now synonymous with the French luxury label, having worn many of Lagerfeld’s most iconic looks for countless campaigns and collections.
Like Nyong’o’s transformative red-carpet aesthetic, Evangelista’s ability to adapt her appearance to suit The Kaiser’s vision ultimately led to her being aptly called “The Chameleon.”
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Erlanger also makes it her business to evolve Nyong’o’s look with every public appearance. “In the early years, we leaned into fairytale elegance,” the stylist told Us. “Over time, we’ve played more with avant-garde elements, intricate beading and sculptural shapes. The key is to keep things fresh while staying true to what makes Lupita shine.”
And shine Nyong’o did from head to toe, thanks in no small part to celebrity hairstylist Vernon Francois who Chanel-ified her elegant chignon by pinning pearls throughout.
Nyong’o’s longtime makeup artist Nick Barose drew inspiration from the ’90 to give her eyes and lips a pop color with pearlescent highlights. He used Chanel beauty products, including the Ombre Essentielle eyeshadow in Menthe á L’eau (a seafoam green hue), the Le Rouge Duo Ultra Tenue liquid lipstick in Milky Blueberry and the Jeux de Lumières palette to lend her skin a lit-from-within glow.
“The gown set the tone, but we also wanted her hair and makeup to bring an unexpected element,” Erlanger said of Nyong’o’s “bold and refined” finishing touches. “The accessories and jewelry are never an afterthought but a way to amplify the story that we’re telling.”
“Lupita also loves when a look tells a story — whether through design details, cultural nods or historical references,” Erlanger shared with Us. “She’s daring, she takes risks and she’s always up for a narrative-driven approach to red-carpet dressing.”
Indeed, with Erlanger’s help, Nyong’o has proven to be a chameleon in her own right on the red carpet and now as a Chanel ambassador.
