There's a reason Lupita Nyong'o is a constant on Best Dressed lists. Her classically chic approach to fashion — plus her joyful personality and always-elegant beauty game — makes her a red carpet favorite of just about everyone. Which is why Vogue tapped the actress to front its October issue (the star's second cover for the mag!), where she chats about her first memories of fashion, designing her own clothing and more, below.
The world became acquainted with Nyong'o, 32, during her super-fashionable red carpet run up to the the 2014 Oscars, where she won a statue for her role in 12 Years a Slave and capped it off with one of the most memorable gowns in recent history: her custom Prada "Nairobi-blue" chiffon number.
But for Nyong'o's, her first memories of fashion occurred long before stepping on a red carpet — or working with a stylist. Growing up in Kenya, where her friends and family were expected to dress well every day, the star vividly remembers wearing a "very '80s red cord miniskirt with suspender straps" when she was five years old.
"Presentation is extremely important in Kenya. You dress formally. You can't just wear flip-flops," she told Vogue. "My mother always had her own style. She wore A-line, tea-length flowery dresses, very well fitting. Her nails were always perfectly done."
Nyong'o says her mother's polished personality trickled down to her and her siblings, which meant they were all responsible for the upkeep of their individual beauty routines as well. "Salons were a big feature in my life," she said. "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."
It was at those same salons that the actress also tried her hand at custom-making her own clothing — but with a little help. "Then I would design my own clothes," Nyong'o said. "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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But now, the actress works with a stylist, 30-year-old Micaela Erlanger, to hand-pick those jaw-droppingly gorgeous designer dresses she continues to turn out, red carpet after red carpet. "I only wear a look if both of us agree on it," Nyong'o said. "My rule is that I have to recognize myself [in the dress]. I have to feel like I've chosen it."
Below, the star spills about moving to Mexico when she was 16, the skills she picked up while working as a production assistant in L.A. (she makes a mean cup of coffee), shows off her hula-hooping skills and much more in the mag's "73 Questions" video.
The October issue hits stands Tuesday, Sept. 22
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