While we’re busy concerning ourselves with all things ‘Fashion,’ thanks to Fashion Weeks having launched around the world, top actress and style fave Lupita Nyong’o has been tapped for a second time (see the first time here) on Vogue’s cover – this time appearing on its October’15 issue.
The Kenyan, who is known for her wiles in style and is due to star in the upcoming Star Wars film (more on that here) has been photographed by the famed photography duo Mert Alas and Marcus Piggott, and spoke to Vogue’s Plum Sykes on her first fashion memory, recalling that at age five she wore a;
“…Very eighties red cord miniskirt with suspender straps. Presentation is extremely important in Kenya. You dress formally. You can’t just wear flip-flops.
My mother always had her own style. She wore A-line, tea-length flowery dresses, very well fitting. Her nails were always perfectly done.”
Lupita also reveals her past beauty regimes and side-hobby, designing her own wardrobe, saying;
“…Salons were a big feature in my life. We would go every two weeks to get our hair braided, washed, or treated. That’s where I read American, British and a few African magazines. Then I would design my own clothes.
In Kenya it’s much cheaper to get clothes made than to buy them. We would have everything run up by a tailor, or my aunt Kitty, who is very creative, would sew things for me.”
With her sudden rise to success in Hollywood though, it’s couture being made for her now, and by top labels too; gorgeous pieces like the powder blue Prada gown she wore to collect her Oscar in 2014, and the polarising custom Prada she wore to the Met Gala the same year (see it here) – the type of pieces whose beauty might have previously been lost on the star, who said;
“When you know a dress is handmade, it completely changes the experience of wearing it.
I didn’t know the power of couture until I tried on a couture dress. It made me cry.”
On the set of her recent role for Queen of Katwe – a film about a Ugandan chess master – Lupita noted;
“One amazing thing about filming in Uganda was that on the first day of rehearsal we were all barefoot.
I looked down and all the feet were my complexion. That had not happened to me before. I was reminded that I’m actually not that special. There are lots of people in the world who look like me.”
On the way Lupita looks in her Vogue spread though, we at SPICE are in awe and love how her radiant complexion pops in pieces by top designers like Givenchy and Gaultier – in particular, we are obsessed with the star’s shot inside this floor-length haute couture gown by Shiaparelli.
Read the full interview here and see the rest of the editorial below – and don’t forget to tell us what you think of Lupita Nyong’o on Vogue’s October’15 cover or her photoshoot for the issue.
Image source: Vogue.co.uk
