Thief: Pearls on Lupita’s dress are worthless
The intriguing saga surrounding Lupita’s Oscar dress has developed a new twist after it emerged that the dress might not be what it was cut out to be.
According to reports, the iridescent gown worn by the actress was returned to her hotel room by the thief who then tattled off to the celebrity gossip website TMZ.com saying the dress’ value was overstated.
The gown worn by the ’12 years a Slave’ star was estimated to have cost Sh13.6 million ($150,000) as it was said to be made with 6,000 real pearls.
But according to TMZ.com, the thief took out two pearls and had them appraised but was told they were man-made, artificial pearls which are nearly worthless.
Lupita, whose red carpet look was the most talked about look of the evening, was dressed by American designer Calvin Klein.
TMZ.com said the thief took the pearl-encrusted, halter neck, column gown with a keyhole cut out detail from Nyong’o’s hotel room on Wednesday after finding the door open.
SHOCKING DISCOVERY
After the shocking discovery, the unnamed thief took the dress back to the London West Hollywood hotel and tipped TMZ.com saying the dress was in a garment bag inside a trash bag in a bathroom.
The gossip site TMZ.com then notified the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department in West Hollywood, which was investigating the theft.
The department has released a statement saying it was investigating the new reports.
In the cutthroat fashion industry, designers often look to Hollywood stars to raise their profile and put them a step ahead of competition.
Fashion designers are increasingly showing a preference for red carpet events over traditional fashion shows to showcase their best works.
Lupita, whose date for the Oscars night was her brother Paul, has emerged a red carpet darling and has been voted as one of the world’s most beautiful and glamorous women.
Neither she nor the designer have commented on this latest development.