How Lupita Nyong’o defined 2014 red carpet fashion – in pictures Whether or not she gets the Oscar on Sunday night, one thing’s for sure: 12 Years a Slave actor Lupita Nyong’o has won the red carpet Tweet Showing fashion nous at one of the many premieres for 12 Years a Slave, Nyong’o does off-kilter, subversive femininity in a cockatoo-printed dress that is typically SS14 Miu Miu. (Also seen on Lily Allen on the cover of Elle UK.) Three months later, Nyong’o was confirmed as one of four campaign faces for the brand. Photograph: Jason Merritt/Getty Images Photograph: Jason Merritt/Getty Images This dress, from laser-print maestro Mary Katrantzou’s first resort collection, is a clever choice. Not only is Katrantzou a credible, of-the-moment designer, but the simple, girlish shape is offset by the print – a dreamy but melancholy tableau of a manicured garden, gone slightly unruly. Photograph: Mark Sullivan/Getty Images for DuJour Magazine Photograph: Mark Sullivan/Getty Images Nyong’o’s most high-profile red carpet outing yet, at the Golden Globes in January, felt like A Moment. Gwyneth Paltrow wore a similar Tom Ford cape to the Oscars in 2012, and earned a lot of style kudos. Nyongo’s telephone-box-red Ralph Lauren take is even punchier, and heralds her arrival as a fashion force: a woman who will not be corseted into the standard ingenue uniform of frothy, flouncy bridal gowns just because it’s her first major awards appearance. Right? Photograph: Jason Merritt/Getty Images Photograph: Jason Merritt/Getty Images How to follow the victory of the cape? Actually, this white, cutout Calvin Klein dress is a fairly safe choice – but look closely, now, at her hair. A widow’s peak has appeared, as if by magic. Hairstylist Ted Gibon edited Nyong’o’s hairline into the faux point using “a fiber filling agent”, which may not sound terribly glamorous but – in its innovation – is the stuff of beauty bloggers’ dreams. Afterwards, a very glossy corner of the internet exploded. Photograph: Christopher Polk/Getty Images Photograph: Christopher Polk/Getty Images Frankly, we don’t adore the hair brooch, which photographs like something a bird has deposited. But the lovely dress is Valentina (vintage, darling), and it confirms Nyong’o’s style template. Youthful, patterned high-necked frocks for semi-posh events, modern, maxi showstoppers when high-octane glamour is required. Photograph: Angela Weiss/Getty Images Photograph: Angela Weiss/Getty Images This turquoise Gucci dress isn’t the Guardian fashion desk’s favourite Nyong’o choice – the neckline could be a bit fussy on anyone else – but it demonstrates why she wears everything so well. First, the colour is incredible on her, and her hair and makeup – the bold magenta lip, the 1990s-influenced mini afro, the bright blue eyes – make it modern. Photograph: Jeffrey Mayer/WireImage Photograph: Jeffrey Mayer/WireImage A picture that says ‘made it’. Sitting front row at between US Vogue editor Anna Wintour and actor Naomi Watts at Calvin Klein’s New York show, Nyong’o could be straight from a SS14 advertising campaign, particularly given that her outfit complements Watts’ so perfectly (we suspect that was planned). Extra points for toughening it up with bold, black-rimmed glasses. Photograph: Larry Busacca/Getty Images for Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week) Photograph: Larry Busacca It’s Bafta night and this Dior gown is just perfect. The shape is a clean take on classic Hollywood starlet, but the unusual colour, belt and cuffs swerve it away from cliche territory. The punky pearl earrings by Brazilian jeweller Ana Khouri feel modern and relaxed – they would work just as well for a posh brunch as they do on the red carpet. Ten days later we can’t remember what anyone else was wearing. Photograph: Mike Marsland/Wireimage Photograph: Mike Marsland/WireImage Here’s Nyong’o with Downton Abbey’s Michelle Dockery. The two share a stylist, Michaela Erlanger, whose philosophy, according to the blurb on her website, is: “You can have anything you want in life, if you dress for it.” (It’s a quote from the Oscar-winning Hollywood costume designer Edith Head.) That said, this bronze Lanvin dress is slightly too Quality Street Orange Creme wrapper to be a classic, but we have a theory: she’s toning it down a little this week, in preparation for a perfect frock moment on Sunday. She knows what she’s doing, this one. Photograph: Gregg DeGuire/WireImage Photograph: Gregg DeGuire/WireImage