Style Queen Lupita

Heather Elliott , Contributor

The first time I laid eyes on Lupita Nyong'o, was last September at the Toronto Film Festival, which screened films including Steve McQueen's 12 Years A Slave. I was in awe of the entire film, especially how the director was able to document in great detail the emotional collapse of a young mother, who is sold into slavery and whose two small children are taken from her, and the rape of a young black woman named Patsy (Lupita's debut performance).

After seeing her tear-jerking performance as an abused slave, I knew right then and there that this young woman was destined for an illustrious career. But I didn't think that she would be a style icon. Not so fast. Not in Hollywood.

Five months later, and Lupita has already graced the covers of The Hollywood Reporter, W Magazine, Dujour, Dazed, V Magazine, and has appeared in Vanity Fair, among other magazine spreads.

These days, the Mexico-born Kenyan native (daughter of a Kenyan politician father and cousin to one of Forbes magazine's Most Powerful Women, Isis Nyong'o) calls Brooklyn, New York, home.

But if anyone has seen her in our borough since the film circuit rounds and the award season, it would be in a magazine at the neighbourhood book stand. She grew from 15 followers on Instagram to over 100,000 in six weeks, and she is one of the most tweeted personalities on any film award night so far this year.

SECOND MAJOR FILM

The Yale drama student-turned-award- winning actress will soon have to rush off the carpets to wrap up her role as a flight attendant in the Liam Neeson thriller Non-stop. This will be Lupita's second major film.

Although her style magician, celebrity stylist Micaela Erlanger, wasn't able to discuss her work for Lupita directly because of contractual obligations, we hear her loud and clear through her amazing styling on the red carpet.

We are celebrating Micaela and Lupita as our dynamic style duo, so we've selected our best looks for Lupita so far this award season, plus we've thrown in a few other fabulous looks from the style doyenne.

Like you, we can't wait to see who she will be wearing at the Oscars. Something tells me it will be over-the-top stunning. Lupita is undoubtedly this year's Oscar ingénue, based on her role and her rise, and everybody looks forward to seeing her strut the carpet at every award show.

Raise your glasses, fashionistas, and let's celebrate this season's breakout style queen. I enlisted the help of a few of my stylish friends to help me review Lupita's looks this award season.

Heather Elliott is a publicist and image consultant at Elliott PR Group in New York City. She can be found on Instagram at @nycjetsetter and on Twitter at ElliottStyle. For contact, visit elliottprgroup.com or email Heather at heatherelliott.epg@gmail.com.

Yellow long dress

March: You simply can't pay for class and elegance and this look says, "I was born to stand out."

Samuels: I think this is my favourite look of all.

McDonald: Simplicity. I love this.

Elliott: It's stunning!

Turquoise dress

March:
Turquoise on sun-drenched skin tone. Need I say more? Kudos to Gucci
for creating such a stunning look for this new 'It' girl.

Samuels:This look is absolutely gorgeous. The pop of colour next to her bronzed skin is everything.

McDonald:
Love the hair... From head to toe she is giving me LIFE. Not many
people can pull this turquoise dress off and she's killing it.

Elliott: She's had better hair days, but the dress was mind-blowing!


Yellow short dress

March: Does she ever look bad? Her body type is a dream for stylists in Hollywood, honey! This VB dress is just as adorable as she is.

Samuels: It hugs her body like a glove … . The yellow complements her beautiful skin.

McDonald: I love the fact that the dress is elegant and revealing a bit of cleavage, which makes it sexy but not too forced.

Elliott: It fits like a glove.


Gown

March: It takes a confident chocolate girl to wear something this risqué with not too much on the chest. But Lupita shows, small or large, your natural style is really what matters.

Samuels: I am in love with this look. Refined Roman goddess.

McDonald: Not much to say about this one.

Elliott: This is my least favourite, but you can't do too much wrong with Lanvin.


White long dress

March: Naturally, if something looks this stunning on you, you should wear it til' it bleeds. She is perfection in white.

Samuels: Love it! The look is edgy, chic, and age appropriate.

McDonald: J'adore! J'adore! I'm obsessed with this dress. The white against her skin is so angelic, chic, clean, elegant, and I could go on and on.

Elliott: I wish I had her body. This will not look better on another person. White against this deep chocolate is dessert.

Red dress

March: This was the talk of the town on the night of The Golden Globes. I hosted a party at my studio and we were pretty much stuck on the gown all night. We took stills and toasted to her fabulosity over some bubbly.

Samuels: This red gown is perfection in my book. She gives it so much life with her winning smile and confidence.

McDonald: This dress is beyond amazing, from the colour that goes perfectly well with her skin to the outlining of the dress.

Elliott: I think the world summed up what I had in mind regarding this look: It doesn't get better than this.