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We Need to Talk About Lupita Nyong'o's *Us* Promo Looks


Lupita Nyong’o‘s performance in Jordan Peele’s Us is earning rave reviews and even Oscar buzz (meantime the film is breaking records left and right). But her acting chops are not the only part of her involvement with the film getting praise, though. The actress has been out promoting Us on the red carpet, on late night shows, at college campuses—and she’s been doing it in full-blown lewks that say: gore, but make it fashion. And people just can’t get enough.

Nyong’o worked with longtime stylist Micaela Erlanger to assemble the much talked-about Us press tour wardrobe, which has fans delighted, frightened, and glued to Instagram to see what’s next.

“We really wanted to have fun with this tour—the last one we did was Black Panther—and capture the duality of the characters in the film,” Erlanger tells Glamour. “We had lots of ideas and shared images. I looked at everything from creepy carnivals to old Alexander McQueen shows to the most recent Dior Couture circus collection. The overall feeling was a bit twisted, dark, unexpected—but still fashion forward, whether that was communicated through her looks, hair, makeup, accessories, etc.”

Some of these references have been more direct than others. For example, Erlanger reveals that Nyong’o has been wearing “little scissor earrings and rings throughout the tour,” as a nod to the movie. She first wore them to the Us premiere at South by Southwest, which was the first major red carpet from the press cycle.

“We searched high and low [for scissor earrings] with no luck,” Erlanger remembers, “until my assistant learned about this designer, Lauren Kalssen.” Nyong’o wore the diamond-encrusted pair with an Honayda suit.

More subtly, though, Nyong’o has also worn outfits that incorporate the idea of duality, which is core to Us, into design. “This Rosie Assoulin dress was a perfect example of that,” Erlanger says of the brand’s Hans Yolo style, with its split contrasting floral pattern. That paired with the actress’ eye makeup, the stylist adds, was “perfect.”

Nyong’o isn’t slowing down with her fashion. If anything, her Us looks only keep getting better and better. Ahead, read on for more tidbits from Erlanger about Nyong’o’s epic outfits (and try not to get too excited about the prospect of awards season…)





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‘Us’ Movie Review: Lupita Nyong’o Is the Horror Heroine We’ve Been Waiting For


Horror movies aren’t the best when it comes to diversity. The genre’s been slow to add women in fresh ways, and black people, typically, don’t fare well. Female characters are often reduced to stereotypes: scream queens in short skirts who screech and squirm their way through blood-soaked landscapes before meeting an untimely death.

But Jordan Peele’s new movie Us, in theaters now, presents a new kind of horror heroine—one who doesn’t scream, doesn’t squirm, and definitely doesn’t need a man to save her. Her name is Adelaide Wilson, and she’s played by Oscar-winner Lupita Nyong’o. The actor’s performance in Us is award-worthy, like everything she does, but it’s more than that: It’s a powerful portrait of a black woman who—spoiler alert—survives Peele’s terrifying, topsy-turvy world and teaches women how to fight back on their own.

Us breaks horror tropes left and right with intelligent characters who make good choices. Adelaide moves through the movie with her eyes and ears open. When her not-so-better half, Red, also played by N’yongo, wants to air her grievances, Adelaide listens intently and, as a result, learns important information to help her family survive. She’s a shining example of how staying calm and asking the right questions is the key to getting what you want. Screaming at monsters rarely works, even in movies.

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Don’t be fooled by Adelaide’s listening, though: She’ll cut you as soon as she has the chance. Old-school scream queens usually waited to be saved, but newer horror heroines—think Michonne (Danai Gurira) on The Walking Dead—are sharp. When the moment comes to attack, Adelaide strikes without fear and without over-the-top aggression. Her daughter Zora, played by Shahadi Wright Joseph, also knows how to hold her own. With their eyes on the prize (i.e., survival), Adelaide and Zora fight when they need to but are smart enough to hold back when the cards are stacked against them. And get this: They do it all without screaming.

Resilience is another important theme in Us, and Adelaide has it in spades. Despite the fact her alter-ego, Red, is the physical embodiment of her fears, she never backs down. Time and time again in the movie, we watch Adelaide address her demons head-on—charging forward, even when she’s terrified. That’s so incredible to see from a female protagonist. Facing your fears is difficult, but it’s necessary for survival, both in horror movies and real life, where the fight is just as scary.

Evan Alex Lupita Nyong'o Shahadi Wright Joseph in Us.
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Scary movies often end with a fine line between the killer and the victim: In order to defeat the monster, characters become the monster. But Adelaide doesn’t do this in Us. She never forgets the people she’s fighting are just that: people. She recognizes they have wants and desires, and recognizes they bear their own burdens. Make no mistake: This doesn’t stop Adelaide from kicking some serious ass, but her empathetic approach with the villains is something we rarely see in horror movies. Maybe it’s time that changed.

In a world full of threats—especially for women—we need more onscreen heroes like Adelaide. When done properly, like in Us, horror movies are the perfect place for women to see how to be brave in the dark. Strength, patience, resilience, empathy: These are all traits Adelaide has in Us, and they’re what we need to fight the monsters in our own lives. Representation matters, and Peele’s writing and Nyong’o’s acting bring to life a woman who’s powerful, bold, and balanced: exactly the woman we need to see in 2019. Adelaide Wilson is spearheading a new path in horror, one that shows female characters conquering the shadows in their life once and for all.

Susan X Jane is a media, race, and pop-culture commentator. Follow her on Twitter at @susanjane19.





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Lupita Nyong'o Wore a Spectacular Warrior-Inspired Gown to the *Black Panther* Premiere


To the surprise of exactly nobody, Lupita Nyong’o, who attended the world premiere of Black Panther at the Dolby Theater in Hollywood on Monday, won the red purple carpet in a dress inspired by her onscreen warrior character. The Oscar winner matched the carpet in a vivid purple custom Versace gown with a long, flowing train, a deep V-neck, and a spiky metallic armor-like overlay embroidered on the bodice that wrapped around her neck, shoulders, and waist, and was dotted with coordinating purple jewels. Nyong’o wore a delicate gold headband around her head and pulled the rest of her hair back into a tall, narrow bun. She accessorized with plum lipstick, a Versace clutch, Giuseppe Zanotti shoes, and Beladora vintage rings and earrings in gold, to match her gown’s textured bodice.

“Purple Reign. #BlackPanther #WelcomeToWakanda,” N’yongo captioned a series of photos on Instagram of her in her gorgeous gown. The actress plays Nakia, a “war dog” spy for the fictional African nation of Wakanda and the main love interest of Wakanda’s ruler T’Challa (AKA the Black Panther), in Marvel’s newest movie,

PHOTO: Jon Kopaloff/FilmMagic/Getty Images

Micaela Erlanger, the star’s longtime stylist, spoke to The Hollywood Reporter about Nyong’o’s look. “We found out there was a purple carpet after we had chosen the dress, but it was kind of a perfect reason to go with the gown; I think it’s a new addition to the Lupita rainbow!” she said. “There’s definitely a nod to her warrior character Nakia here, without being costumey. It’s a really glamorous take on our vision and it’s very fierce, certainly.”

Earlier this month, Nyong’o spoke to THR about what made her sign onto Black Panther before she had even read the script. “We were creating an aspirational world where an African people are in charge of their own destiny,” she said. “And that really appealed to me and had the little girl inside me jumping for joy. To just have African people, black people, at the center of that narrative is so exciting.”

Related: Lupita Nyong’o Expertly Claps Back at People Who Said Her Skin Color Would Hurt Her Success





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Lupita Nyong’o Speaks Out About Harvey Weinstein


Oscar winner Lupita Nyong’o is the latest woman to come forward with allegations of sexual harassment and assualt against Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein in a New York Times op-ed published Thursday.

“I have been following the news and reading the accounts of women coming forward to talk about being assaulted by Harvey Weinstein and others,” she wrote. “I had shelved my experience with Harvey far in the recesses of my mind, joining in the conspiracy of silence that has allowed this predator to prowl for so many years … I had felt very much alone when these things happened, and I had blamed myself for a lot of it, quite like many of the other women who have shared their stories.”

Nyong’o details several meetings with the disgraced producer, starting with a 2011 awards ceremony in Berlin when she was a student at the Yale School of Drama. “A woman who was a producer herself cautiously advised me to ‘keep Harvey in your corner,’” Nyong’o wrote. “She said: ‘He is a good man to know in the business, but just be careful around him. He can be a bully.”

The actress says Weinstein invited her to lunch, where he tried to coerce her into drinking alcohol. “‘Let’s cut to the chase. I have a private room upstairs where we can have the rest of our meal.” I was stunned. I told him I preferred to eat in the restaurant. He told me not to be so naïve. If I wanted to be an actress, then I had to be willing to do this sort of thing. He said he had dated Famous Actress X and Y and look where that had gotten them.'”

“‘You have no idea what you are passing up,’” he said. “With all due respect, I would not be able to sleep at night if I did what you are asking, so I must pass,” I replied.”

The producer later invited Nyong’o to a private screening at his home in Connecticut. Minutes into it, Nyong’o wrote, Weinstein brought her up to his bedroom and told her he was going to give her a massage.

She explained how she offered to give him one instead and left his home when he attempted to remove his pants.

“I share all of this now because I know now what I did not know then. I was part of a growing community of women who were secretly dealing with harassment by Harvey Weinstein,” she wrote. “But I also did not know that there was a world in which anybody would care about my experience with him.”

Lupita also wrote, “Now that we are speaking, let us never shut up about this kind of thing. I speak up to make certain that this is not the kind of misconduct that deserves a second chance. I speak up to contribute to the end of the conspiracy of silence.”

Earlier this month, several reports alleged the Hollywood producer had sexually harassed or assaulted a number of women, including Gwyneth Paltrow, Angelina Jolie, Rosanna Arquette, Mira Sorvino, and Italian actress Asia Argento—said they also were harassed by Weinstein, who was fired from The Weinstein Company in October.

Read Lupita’s entire op-ed here.



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