Lupita Nyong'o and Stylist Micaela Erlanger Are the 2025 Oscars Red Carpet's Best Duo
Ahead of this year's custom Chanel moment, Erlanger exclusively shares with 'Marie Claire' what makes her star client so fun to watch.


Months before Lupita Nyong'o walked down the 2025 Oscars red carpet and onto the best fashion moments list outside Hollywood's Dolby Theatre, stylist Micaela Erlanger was already crafting the star's custom Chanel looks for the 97th Annual Academy Awards. Models debuting the house's Spring 2025 collection had barely stepped off the Paris Fashion Week runway last September when Erlanger visited the Chanel Atelier to start her Oscars research process.
Digging through the archives led Erlanger to a reference she knew would make an impact by the time the Oscars red carpet rolled around. "I found this incredible photo of Linda Evangelista on the runway, I think from the '90s, in a beautiful dress that stood out to me as understated, elegant, timeless, and glamorous—everything I hoped to achieve with the overall mood and feeling of Lupita's look," she tells Marie Claire just before the ceremony in an exclusive interview. "I sent them the reference, and we went back and forth on some sketches. Of course, Lupita weighed in and played a big part in my creative process; it’s such a collaboration."
Lupita Nyong'o arrived at the 2025 Oscars in custom Chanel styled by Micaela Erlanger.
Nearly six months later, the resulting custom couture piece features pearl-embellished straps, pearl tassels, and an ivory satin belt—homages to Chanel's 1991 Spring Haute Couture collection that still feel modern. All in all, it took 600 hours of work to place 22,410 embroidery elements all over the Oscars gown, each one complimented by an equally intricate piece of diamond and pearl Chanel High Jewelry.
Every second poured into the look was worth the effort. "I think the dress we created embodies that perfectly. It's understated and beautiful, allowing Lupita to shine," Erlanger says.
Lupita's gown took 600 hours to create with more than 22,000 embroidery elements.
For the after-party, she changed into a second Chanel couture creation—also coated in beaded embellishments.
That dress—along with the black-and-white Chanel Couture Nyong'o wore to the after-party circuit later that evening—are also a sign of just how much the pair has evolved since their first Academy Awards together in 2014. Erlanger began styling Nyong'o for her 12 Years a Slave press run, culminating in the rising star's Best Supporting Actress Oscar win. Nyong'o accepted her award in a custom, Cinderella-blue Prada gown that instantly made that year's best-dressed Oscars list—and landed in the all-time hall of fame for Academy Award gowns. This was the springboard for a style partnership that's one of award season's favorites to watch: a duo whose choices in custom and off-the-runway pieces always meet the moment without ever feeling forced or disingenuous.
For Nyong'o's first Academy Awards appearance, in 2014, Erlanger styled her in a Cinderella-blue Prada gown.
"I think it's really rooted in mutual trust," Erlanger says of her relationship with Nyong'o. They're close enough to celebrate birthdays and life events together, as well as attending all those premieres. And the closer they've gotten, the more they've broadened Nyong'o's style horizons. "I'm like, everything you had originally thought you wouldn't like, we've done—and we've done it well! We laugh about it now."
Erlanger has worked with clients from Kelly Clarkson to Meryl Streep; she's also the only Hollywood fashion specialist I know of with a Harvard Business School Executive MBA. She understands red carpet styling is as strategic as it is creative—and she can walk the tightrope of setting clients up for brand partnerships and serious projects while letting their personalities shine. "Some stylists dress their clients like they dress themselves," she says. "I pride myself on having range and having worked with a real diverse set of clients."
At the 2024 Academy Awards, Erlanger and Nyong'o paid tribute to that first blue gown with an Armani Privé piece.
When Nyong'o was campaigning for her very first nomination, Erlanger used what she called a "Lupita rainbow" to show the spectrum of designers she could wear.
She prioritized bright colors from a variety of luxury houses, and veered toward classic silhouettes. "I wanted as many designers to see how their clothes resonated on this extraordinary talented woman, and how she could carry that and we looked to variety and silhouette," she says. Oscars red carpet looks aren't just about the photo, after all. A look that resonates can open the door to contracts and even future roles; they build a star's image and brand in entertainment.
"You never have a crystal ball. You never know that when you start working with someone that their small indie flick might get a nom." But Erlanger can sense when a client is on the precipice of something big. She believed in Nyong'o; she believed in their first press tour's looks. The fervor over her client's first Oscars gown proved her correct.
Micaela Erlanger has styled Lupita Nyong'o for over a decade, including Academy Awards looks by Calvin Klein (left), Atelier Versace (center), and Prada (right).
The decade since has been a cascade of memorable looks at the annual Oscars red carpet and beyond. On Academy Awards night, Erlanger and Nyong'o have tried everything from pearlescent Calvin Klein to armor-like Atelier Versace. Every accomplished actor wears at least one dress channeling the golden Oscar statue; Nyong'o's came in 2022, taking the form of a three-quarter sleeve Prada gown with tiny pink floral embellishments.
These dresses, and those Nyong'o wore to promote films like Black Panther, Us, and The 355, were more so about her growing love of fashion than the movie she was trying to promote. "Nothing was reminiscent. There was no method dressing," Erlanger says. "There was none of that. It was about who she was."
Avoiding one-to-one copies of a character doesn't mean the pair has avoided symbolic choices altogether. For example, some dresses and headwraps for 2016's Queen of Katwe were created with fabric Erlanger sourced on a trip to Kenya where she met Nyong'o's family.
Nyong'o's red carpet looks have always incorporated intentional references to her work, from press tours to awards season ceremonies.
Nyong'o has spent this awards season getting settled into her recently-announced Chanel ambassadorship and promoting her Best Animated Picture-nominated film, The Wild Robot. For a project where her client is prominent without being an on-screen lead (she's the voice of a major character), Erlanger thought about referencing the film's watercolor palette through bright looks by Markarian, Dolce & Gabbana, and Ph5 (among others). Then when the nominations started rolling in, the duo switched into a more elevated gear at the 2025 BAFTAs and Critics' Choice Awards—mostly with help from Chanel.
Erlanger and Nyong'o's partnership has covered so much ground over the last decade, the stylist says, because her client is willing to experiment. Whether she's trying gilded-gold Prada or custom Chanel, regardless of the project, "She's dynamic, she's multi-dimensional—she's a chameleon." And even as she samples different aesthetics, it's the same friendship behind the scenes that keeps her continuously on the best-dressed list.
Halie LeSavage is the senior fashion and beauty news editor at Marie Claire, where she assigns, edits, and writes stories for both sections. Halie is an expert on runway trends, celebrity style, emerging fashion and beauty brands, and shopping (naturally). In over seven years as a professional journalist, Halie’s reporting has ranged from fashion week coverage spanning the Copenhagen, New York, Milan, and Paris markets, to profiles on industry insiders like celebrity stylist Molly Dickson, to breaking news stories on noteworthy brand collaborations and beauty product launches. (She can personally confirm that Bella Hadid’s Ôrebella perfume is worth the hype.) She has also written dozens of research-backed shopping guides to finding the best tote bags, ballet flats, and more. Most of all, Halie loves to explore what style trends—like the rise of emotional support accessories or TikTok’s 75 Hard Style Challenge—can say about culture writ large. She also justifies almost any purchase by saying it’s “for work.”
Halie has previously held writer and editor roles at Glamour, Morning Brew, and Harper’s Bazaar. She has been cited as a fashion and beauty expert in The Cut, CNN Underscored, and Reuters, among other outlets, and appears in newsletters like Selleb and Self Checkout to provide shopping recommendations. In 2022, she earned the Hearst Spotlight Award for excellence and innovation in fashion journalism. She holds a Bachelor’s Degree in English from Harvard College. Outside of work, Halie is passionate about books, baking, and her miniature Bernedoodle, Dolly. For a behind-the-scenes look at her reporting, you can follow Halie on Instagram and TikTok.
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