Lupita Nyong’o, Diane Kruger toast stylist Micaela Erlanger’s new book ‘How to Accessorize’
Reporting from New York — She might’ve been the evening’s honoree, but a celebrity stylist is never off duty.
Micaela Erlanger greeted guests as they came off the elevator onto the Terrace at the Gramercy Park Hotel Tuesday night, and though she was the one in the spotlight, she nevertheless was busy tweaking and adjusting client Lupita Nyong’o’s strapless cocktail dress and cropped jacket as Nyong’o made her way into the party.
Erlanger, known for her work with Nyong’o, Meryl Streep, Diane Kruger, Michelle Dockery and more, was flanked by Nyong’o, Kruger, Candice Huffine, Brandon Maxwell, Fernando Garcia, Prabal Gurung, Jason Wu, Carly Cushnie, Deborah Lippmann and more to celebrate the release of her book “How to Accessorize,†published by Clarkson Potter. Fittingly, shoe brand Schutz partnered with Erlanger for the dinner.
“I’m the most comfortable person in this room. I, unfortunately, had to wear a bra, though,†Huffine said of the pajama ensemble she’d worn for the occasion.
The model has known Erlanger for a few years and, naturally, sung her praises. Her testament to the stylist’s credibility?
“It was at the end of last year in December, it was the final party of the year,†Huffine said, recalling her favorite look. “It was just a little white dress with a sparkly white top, but it was the accessories — ha, ha, ha — that honestly made the whole evening. She put me in these diamond handcuffs: one was a claw and one had a ring attached. They just toughened up what could’ve been a very sweet look of white and sparkles to a party where everyone was going to be in a sea of black. It was a risk, but it felt so cool. We put a white leather jacket over it to arrive in, and it was the first time I’d honestly felt like me, like the way I should always be dressed. Which I could never seem to pull off myself.â€
Having worked with other stylists in the past, Huffine said Erlanger pushed her style in a way others never seemed to get.
“My true style wasn’t always totally understood — I was always skewed a bit more classic or matronly, for lack of a better word,†she said. “I was always fighting to be young and cool. What I saw for myself was never what I was actually put in, because they saw me in a different way, which was incredibly flattering as well. [Other stylists] were like ‘Well we see you as a classic beauty’ and I was like ‘But I don’t want to just wear pencil skirts.’â€
For Erlanger, the release of the book was a dream realized. “It’s been a long road to write a book. It’s been on the bucket list,†she said. “It was definitely a really interesting experience. There was a bit of a learning curve. It was challenging but really exciting — I wouldn’t have changed any of it.â€
And though awards season is over, the super stylist is still as busy as ever. “It’s still crazy. It’s Met Ball, Cannes, it doesn’t stop,†she said.
