When Lupita Nyong'o stepped onto the red carpet at the 2023 Tony Awards, she looked as though she had been dipped in silver — and technically, she kind of was! The actor paired her classic black tuxedo with a liquid silver breastplate that she revealed had been painstakingly crafted from her own chest by designer and artist Misha Japanwala.
"Honored, humbled, strengthened and energized to don this breastplate created by Misha Japanwala, which she cast and molded of my body," Lupita Nyong'o wrote on Instagram alongside a few prep photos from before the red carpet. “Misha Japanwala is a Pakistani artist and fashion designer, whose work is rooted in the rejection and deconstruction of external shame attached to one’s body,” she continued. "In her artistic process, she creates a realistic and true record of a person’s body as an act of resistance and celebration, and an insistence on being allowed to exist freely in our bodies."
Nyong'o wore the breastplate with a jacket on the red carpet, but you can see the piece in more detail on Instagram, including how the piece comes to life on the body.
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Nyong'o styled the breastplate and tuxedo with a shiny silver chrome manicure, a few silver rings, diamond studs, and a sleek clutch. While the silver breastplate was obviously the centerpiece of her look, the actor also rocked a shaved head with a bold henna tattoo design, smoky eyes, and a deep, romantic plum lip. She looked like a work of art come to life on the red carpet, calling it a "shameless out-of-body experience."
Nyong'o isn't the only celeb loving the breastplate trend; fellow actors Zendaya and Sydney Sweeney have both experimented with metallic looks, though Nyong'o's differs in that it was actually sculpted specifically to her body instead of the more minimalistic, experimental shapes worn by Sweeney and Zendaya. Sweeney's breastplate was a custom LaQuan Smith design that appeared to be molded to her body like a corset, while Zendaya has worn two breastplate-centric designs, including a sleek Tom Ford set.
Japanwala's work is intimate and deeply personal to the wearer but acts as a sort of armor to allow their body to just be as it is. You can see more of her pieces through July 30 at the Hannah Traore Gallery in New York.
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