Lupita Nyong’o’s Missing Oscar Dress Recovered
At the 87th Academy Awards, last years Best Supporting Actress winner, Lupita Nyong’o, walked down the red carpet in a stunning $150,000 dress. The dress is a beautiful champagne color, created by designer Francisco Costa for Calvin Klein, and embellished with 6,000 pearls.
It was revealed, two days after the Oscars on Feb. 24, that her one-of-a-kind dress was stolen between 8 a.m. and 9 p.m. from the London West Hollywood Hotel, where she got a room to stay for the event. However, CCTV cameras were not focused around Nyong’o’s door, making it hard for police to track down the missing dress, but easier for the thief to get away.
On Friday, Feb. 27, TMZ announced that a man called them claiming that he took the custom-made dress for the actress from her hotel room.
He said to the gossip site that he knew Nyong’o was in the room so he waited for an opportunity to enter. Once he saw that the door of her room had been left ajar, he made his way in and took the dress. He unattached a couple of pearls from the gown and decided to take them to the Los Angeles’ Garment District, where he discovered that the pearls were fake.
The thief then explained to TMZ that because the pearls were fake, he decided to put the dress back in its garment bag, stuff it into a trash bag and leave it across from the London hotel’s gym. After the phone call, TMZ shared this information with the Los Angeles Police Department. The LAPD went to the suggested location and indeed found the dress there, hidden under a bathroom sink.
In a news conference held that Friday, police spokesman Michael White told reporters that the burglar could still face grand theft charges even though the dress was returned and the pearls are not real. An arrest has yet to be made.
Nyong’o told Women’s Wear Daily that she was, “Happy that it has been potentially recovered. It’s a timeless and priceless piece of art.” Earlier in the week, Nyong’o had been seen attempting to stay incognito at JFK Airport in New York. She wore large sunglasses and had a hoodie over her head. She avoided questions about her dress from reporters.
Designer of the dress, Costa, also added to Women’s Wear Daily that, “Once it’s returned to us, we will be able to have the dress restored and archived, as it now represents an important moment for the brand.”
Earlier in the investigation, US Magazine was told by a spokesperson from the LA Sheriff’s Department that they were “…looking at every scenario; when the cleaners go to clean the room they do it with the door open so that’s a possibility.”
The London West Hollywood Hotel previously stated that: “this is a terribly unfortunate situation, and we are working with law enforcement on their investigation,” reported the Daily Mail.
Although the pearls are fake, something the thief failed to realize was that the dress is still custom-made and was worn by an Academy Award winner, which hikes up its value. Fortunately, it will make its way back to its rightful owner.
