When it comes to awards season style,Cynthia Erivois a fashion chameleon. Fromfluorescent neon huestocompletely embellished ballgowns, the actress is never afraid to push the boundaries — and she did just that for2021 Grammys.
The star, who is nominated for the Grammy Award for best song written for visual media, for “Stand Up,” didn’t hit the red carpet in Los Angeles, but nonetheless made a head-turning entrance to the awards show with her Louis Vuitton ensemble.
For more on the 2021Grammy Awards, listen below to the episode of PEOPLE Every Day.
Erivo’s stylistJason Boldenshared a series of photos of the star modeling the custom, high-shine Louis Vuitton confection. The head-to-toe embroidered gown was composed utilizing a “complex” method of embroidery, the fashion label says in a release, and required over 60,000 glass beads, crystals and sequins.
Blair Caldwell for Louis Vuitton
It took more than 140 hours to assemble the intricate design, which was first embroidered in triangular-shaped silver sequins and then re-embroidered after the gown was assembled for even more shine.
Check outPEOPLE’s full Grammys coverageto get the latest news on music’s biggest night.
Erivo completed the jaw-dropping look with Tiffany & Co. jewelry and a complementary long, coffin-shaped manicure.
“What Carpet 🤷🏾♂️⚱️🤎 Custom Louis Vuitton x Tiffany & Co ✌🏾GRAMMYS,” Bolden captioned the photos shared on his Instagram.
Todd Williamson/NBC/Getty
Bolden described the look as a “much-needed fantasy” — and he revealed that the actress actually didn’t know anything about it before the show. “Cynthia knew nothing about this dress, but she trusts me and allows me to be creative,” Bolden said during E!’s pre-show broadcast.
The stylist told PEOPLE that amid the pandemic, he and Erivo wanted to select a look “to just make us all smile.”
“With colors like that, that’s what it triggers. It triggers that emotion of happiness and joy. Right now, I feel like that’s what we need. That’s why I really wanted to lean into something that looked like that — bold and impactful. That’s exactly what it did,” Bolden said.
When Bolden finally showed Erivo the ensemble — two days before theGolden Globesceremony, to be exact! — her first reaction was pure bliss. “She’s like, ‘You know me.’ She was beyond thrilled. [Cynthia’s] a fashion girl, so anything that’s out of the box and where most people would probably be nervous and be concerned, she takes that on and she likes that challenge,” Bolden told PEOPLE.
Since the look came together last-minute, Bolden was lucky that the Valentino Couture confection fit Erivo like a glove. Said Bolden: “She tried it on, zero alterations. I got excited. It made me happy. We didn’t try [on] anything else. That was the only dress I brought.”
source: people.com
