Award-giving ceremonies have always been much-awaited because these events are basically where you’ll see a lot of celebrities together in one venue.
Plus, these became an avenue to see our favorite stars in their custom-designed outfits by widely celebrated brands and designers.
Suddenly, everyone has their own “yay” or “nay” judging time – or the moment we choose who slayed the red carpet and who didn’t.
Most of the attires have a price tag that can make your jaw drop, which means these gatherings are also a hot pot for the bad guys.
We’ve all seen how glamorous these events can be, which means the attendees are out donning their best ensembles.
Most are impressive, some fall short on fashion experts’ expectations but nonetheless, these outfits generally cost an arm and a leg.
Although it might sound far-fetched, these ceremonies have paved a way for people with bad intentions to see which ones are worth stealing. For those who don’t buy it, just take a walk down memory lane.
The Case of the Missing Dress
One of the most memorable dresses worn during an Oscar Awards in 2015 was that of Lupita Nyong’o, who played Nakia in 2018’s critically received superhero film “Black Panther.”
The Kenyan actress wowed the onlookers with her Calvin Klein halter dress that’s filled to the brim with white pearls. Hitting the red carpet with that outfit could easily steal the show, and she did. Partnered with teardrop earrings, it is a no-brainer why people’s attention was all on her – or her dress.
Two days after that year’s Academy Awards, or on Feb. 26, 2015, the dress again made a loud buzz, not because it was worn again by Nyong’o but because it was stolen.
The head-turning piece was valued by the brand at $150,000 and had 6,000 hand-sewn Akoya white pearls that took 10 weeks to be put together by 25 people.
So you can just imagine how people were scrambling once they got wind of what happened. As for the actress, she couldn’t immediately file for a police report as the gown was just a loan from Calvin Klein.
The police were clueless about who could have taken the dress because Nyong’o was traveling with an entourage who had access to the hotel room.
So, the authorities scourge high and low and even relied on the building’s surveillance footage to catch the culprit. Only a few days later, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department closed the case without catching the one responsible. What??
What Happened?
Here’s what went down: just two days after the dress went missing, the thief called TMZ to inform where they had left the dress.
According to the caller, he took the gown after he saw the door to the room ajar. After which, he took two pearls from it and went to the garment district, where he was told that these were fake.
Probably disappointed with what he got, he returned the item to a bathroom in the London Hotel, where he once took it.
As TMZ informed the police, they went there to find a garbage bag that contained the dress placed in a garment bag.
Apparently, the thief said he wanted to let the world know how Hollywood can be filled with fakery. How can the investigation be closed when the thief remained unknown? That’s because Calvin Klein refused to press charges for an undisclosed reason.
Calvin Klein and Lupita Nyong’o’s Statements
The designer of the dress, Francisco Costa, said that all of them at Calvin Klein were thrilled that the dress was finally located.
As for the claims that the dress was practically fake, the statement seemed to have sidestepped the issue.
What the official further explained was that once they got a hand of the gown, they are going to archive it since it became an important representation of a significant moment for the brand. Nyong’o herself was happy with the return of her much-talked-about pearl dress.
The curious case of Lupita Nyong’o’s dress may be closed but there certainly are loopholes in what happened.
Calvin Klein never addressed the phony pearl accusation and neither did the actress. But real or not, thank heavens that the thief came to his mind and returned the dress to where he got it.