Lupita Nyong’o is a flirt. Lainey wrote about how “extra-close” she was with Winston Duke on the red-carpet last night. We’ve seen her insta-flirt with Chadwick Boseman and social media flirt AND real-life flirt with my Michael Bae Jordan. How dare she. Just kidding. If anyone can have him, Lupita can. Lupita may or may not have been running game on Winston Duke last night (they went to Juilliard together so there’s history there) but I’ll tell you for sure who she was flirting with. THE CAMERAS. THE WORLD. ALL OF US. GODDAMN. 

Lupita Nyong’o was hands down my best dressed of the night. Please note the caption below. 

Vibranium by Versace. Black Panther jokes will never get old. Anyway, this dress is stupid. It’s stupidly beautiful. It is unfair that a human being other than Beyoncé can be this f-cking flawless. This Versace is gold. We’ve seen gold on the Oscar red carpet before but this one is special. I love that the strapless side almost looks like armour. The slit is PERFECT. The off-the-shoulder detail is spectacular. HER SHOULDERS. HER FACE. I WILL NOT STOP ALL CAPS YELLING AT YOU ABOUT LUPITA NYONG’O. OK, I will. I just want you to know how much I appreciate the greatness she bestowed on us last night. And that if I was Winston Duke, I would be all touchy-feely with her too. 

As usual, Lupita brought her hair game too. Lupita’s long-time hairstylist Vernon Francois, the man also responsible for her sky-high iconic style at the MET, created a magical crown look that I’ve been staring at for far too long. I’m also having trouble keeping my eyes open at this point so it could be the lack of sleep but it’s mesmerizing. After Lupita posted about the inspiration behind her hairstyle… 

 

A post shared by Lupita Nyong'o (@lupitanyongo) on

… VOGUE did a deep dive.

Her coif on this evening’s red carpet was inspired by images of Amasunzu hairstyles traditional to Rwandan culture. The Amasunzu—grown, cut, and built into a series of crescents—was once a sign of marriageability, worn by men and woman as a suitor signal of sorts.

Lupita’s hair is powerful. She is Nakia, the badass beauty of Black Panther. She is the love interest in one of the biggest movies of all time. I’ve made this comparison before but think of all the little girls who emulated Princess Leia’s hair because of Star Wars. I may sound like a broken record but I will never stop being affected by seeing natural African hairstyles on red carpets and in movies and in all the places we never saw them for so long. Lupita Nyong’o knows this, which is why she deliberately chooses inspirations for her looks that pay tribute to her roots. 

If we’re talking about Lupita Nyong’o starting trends, we have to point out the glasses she was wearing as she presented with Kumail Nanjiani. Apparently, the glasses were trending on Twitter at some point last night. OK. They’re cute. But THE HAIR. THE DRESS. 

Lupita also showed up to the Vanity Fair after party in a stupid dress – Armani Prive to be exact. This one was stupidly sexy and clearly an after-party dress, not a show stopper, but still stupid. This is the perfect dress to flirt in. Did anything check on Winston Duke after he saw Lupita in this dress?