There was no missing Trevor Noah at the 2021 Grammys.
After all, he was the host. As the emcee of the highly anticipated event, the Daily Show star frequently popped up during the hours-long ceremony to steer the show and deliver punchlines along the way. While he kept viewers laughing, there was something else they could agree on: Trevor Noah was looking incredibly dapper. As Glee alum Kevin McHale aptly tweeted, "Trevor noah is...getting even hotter. help."
Considered one of the best dressed of the night, Noah first stepped onto the red carpet in a custom Gucci double-breasted tuxedo, embellished with the Schlumberger Apollo brooch diamond brooch by Tiffany and Co. As his stylist Jason Bolden revealed to E! News, the glamorous accessory was a spur-of-the-moment decision.
"You know what was really bizarre is that that actually wasn't supposed to be the red carpet look. We kind of just made that decision today," Bolden shared exclusively. "All of the sudden we were getting ready for the carpet and we pinned that brooch on the jacket and I looked at Trevor and I was like, 'Maybe you should wear this for the carpet?' And he was like, 'Sure.' And that's kind of how it happened."
As Bolden put it, "The idea of like—was there anything planned or was it overly thought out? No. It's just kind of like one of those gut instinct moments when I've been able to kind of just like lean into and trust."
Overall, Bolden credited his celebrity client with handing over the sartorial reins. "I'm also super lucky that I work with people that honestly and truly just kind of turn over that fashion creativity to me and allow me to just kind of be," he said. "When it came to Trevor and his three wardrobe changes, I presented him these ideas that I wanted to work with and kind of just allowed me to just be. I surprised him with the Tiffany's brooch and we decided to wear that for the red carpet, so I think for me, when it came to Trevor, it was just keeping the quintessential proper, smart, dapper, gentleman."
The celebrity stylist, who has dressed Amanda Gorman, Alicia Keys and Yara Shahidi, had the unique task of dressing Noah as the host, which meant taking different things into consideration than if he was a nominee.
"This is someone that's on the screen more than most people," Bolden pointed out, "so I was just really kind of conscious on not doing something that was going to distract you from what he was saying and who is coming back, or when certain people walked on the stage he was presenting things to. I was trying to create a palette that was really kind of easy for anybody else he sat next to."
As a result, Bolden stuck with shades of black and played with texture. "The matte moment of the double-breasted to the crushed velvet... I'm trying to make sure that everyone who stood next to him would also shine and it would be a perfect kind of backdrop and accessory to anyone that received the award."
On the opposite end of the spectrum, there was no outshining Bolden's client Cynthia Erivo, who was nominated for Best Song Written for Visual Media. The "Stand Up" singer, who is also slated to star as the late Queen of Soul in the upcoming anthology series, Genius: Aretha, shimmered from head to toe in a custom beaded, sequin metallic gown by Louis Vuitton.
And while the elaborate gown looked weighty, Bolden revealed that wasn't the case. "From imagery, you would actually think it's super heavy and weighs a ton," Bolden, who has partnered with Samsung to use the Samsung Galaxy S21 as a remote styling tool, said. "But, me being able to show her that on video and actually holding it in one hand to show how light it was using my Director's View was really helpful and impactful."
"I just really wanted her to have this moment of being a nominee and for her to kind of sparkle," he said of the famously bold fashionista, "and also the Aretha Franklin of it all."