Behind every iconic celebrity style moment, there was a great stylist.
So, if the theory holds, every time Lupita Nyong'o looks over her shoulder, Micaela Erlanger is always right there.
At the 2018 Ace Awards Monday night, roles were reversed, as the Oscar winner came to support the woman who has been responsible for so many of Lupita's best looks—from gilded Versace at the Academy Awards to crochet, colorful Balmain at the Queen of Katwe premiere. Before the Black Panther star presented Erlanger with the Style Influencer Award, E! News caught up with the fashion-forward duo to discuss their styling process.
"Leading up to a fitting, we'll have had conversations. She's very organized. The way she does things is so meticulous, and she thinks ahead as well so fittings can be long," Lupita said of Micaela. "She always starts with her favorites first, and those are the ones I want to see first anyway, because I want to wear things that we're both excited about."
This collaboration has paid off, considering the actress retains an unofficial reserved spot on best dressed lists across the Internet, and The Hollywood Reporter has named Erlanger a top stylist year after year. But perhaps the reason why this dynamic works is because they are both willing to take risks.
"I wear prints more because of her. I was kind of afraid of prints when I started working with her," Lupita admitted to E! News. "She introduced me to a lot of vocabulary to do with prints, like mix-match prints and things like that… It's all thanks to working with her and getting more familiar and comfortable with diversity in my fashion sense."
Of course, the author of How to Accessorize: A Perfect Finish to Every Outfit knows the power of a good handbag. Micaela, clad in multi-color, lace Dolce & Gabbana, and Lupita, in a fun, yellow Carolina Herrera dress and Swarovski crystals (that coincidentally matched Micaela's dress) on her eyes, both carried sparkling, bedazzled Judith Leiber clutches.
The takeaway: Fruit-sized accessories are in. In Lupita's case, a contrasting pink pineapple "in celebration of the summertime," she said.
Call this a seasonal style combo we're going to copy, stat.