There are few actresses as instantly recognizable as 32 - year - old
Lupita Nyong’ o , who took on the role of the slave girl Patsey in
Steve McQueen ’ s 12 Years a Slave while a student at Yale — and
went on to win an Oscar in 2014 . In one fell swoop Lupita
conquered Hollywood , seduced the fashion world, and found herself
shouldering the dreams of an entire continent.
A few minutes later we are crawling through traffic , heading to the
Dior show at the Musée Rodin . Settling herself patiently in the back
of the car , Lupita tells me , “ I didn ’ t know the power of couture until
I tried on a couture dress . It made me cry . ”
Lupita has an old - school attitude to fashion . She calls pants
“ slacks. ” When I joke about this with her, she responds , “ What can I
say ? I ’ m a Pisces . I have the soul of an 80 - year - old woman inside
me . ” Long before the world was awed by her movie debut and her
Oscar speech , for which she wore an exquisite baby - blue Prada
chiffon gown , Lupita was properly turned out . Her first memory of
fashion was at age five , wearing her “ 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 . ” As a girl in Nairobi , Lupita recalls, “ 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 . ”
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