A Pakistani artist sculpted the bronze that Lupita Nyong’o wears as Helen of Troy in Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey.
Pakistani artist Misha Japanwala has created two sculptural costume pieces worn by Lupita Nyong’o in Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey, in which the actor plays Helen of Troy.
Japanwala confirmed the collaboration in an Instagram post on Monday, sharing behind the scenes images of the sculpting process. She said it was the honor of a lifetime to contribute to Nolan’s vision and to work with costume designer Ellen Mirojnick and Sara O’Donnell on the two pieces. She thanked Nyong’o for championing her work. The film is currently in theatres.
Two Bronze Pieces for Lupita Nyong’o’s Helen of Troy
Mirojnick, who received an Oscar nomination for her work on Nolan’s Oppenheimer, told W Magazine that the costume team wanted to ground the character in realism, and that it was Nyong’o who suggested bringing Japanwala on board.
The first piece is an asymmetrical neck and shoulder plate in bronze. Nyong’o wears it as a capelet over a ruched, draped gown in a scene set in Sparta, where Helen and King Menelaus, played by Jon Bernthal, host Odysseus’ son Telemachus, played by Tom Holland. Mirojnick described the piece as resembling a broken statue.
The second appears in Helen’s final scene, as she bids Telemachus farewell. It is a choker, worn with a chainmail style caftan gown that Mirojnick sourced in Spain. Reports differ on the metal, with W Magazine describing the choker as gold and Dawn Images describing it as bronze. The gown is not Japanwala’s work.
Mirojnick said she was initially hesitant to ask Nyong’o to wear the second look because of its weight. Nyong’o replied that she had worn more pounds of Chanel pearls and could manage it.
Nyong’o plays a dual role in the film, appearing as both Helen and her half sister Clytemnestra.
Misha Japanwala’s Body Cast Sculptures and Career
Japanwala is a Pakistani artist and fashion designer based between Karachi and New Jersey. She graduated with a BFA in fashion design from Parsons School of Design in 2018 and worked briefly at Elle magazine and the label Proenza Schouler before moving into fine art.
Her practice involves casting bodies in silicone and plaster, then finishing the moulds in materials including bronze and resin. The casts are worn as sculptural garments. According to Hannah Traore Gallery, which represents her, the work addresses bodily autonomy, gender based violence, moral policing, sexuality and censorship, and is intended to ask viewers to see the body as it is.
Her pieces have been worn by Cardi B, Lil Nas X and Joy Crookes. Cardi B wore a cast of her nude pregnant figure in a 2021 announcement, and a gold breastplate and arm cuff in the video for Rumors, her collaboration with Lizzo, the same year. Japanwala was named to the Forbes 30 Under 30 list in 2021.
Her first solo exhibition, Beghairati Ki Nishaani: Traces of Shamelessness, opened at Hannah Traore Gallery in New York in 2023. Elle reported that the show included body casts of hands, nipples and torsos, alongside a film and lookbook shot on the Karachi coastline featuring Pakistani creatives wearing custom pieces.
The work has drawn criticism in Pakistan. Japanwala has said in interviews that she receives messages accusing her designs of going against the culture and questioning how a Muslim woman raised in Pakistan could produce them, and that she has faced content removals on social media platforms.
Speaking to the interview series Qissa, she described a 2021 collaboration with the Pakistani label Generation for Breast Cancer Awareness Month, in which she wore a breastplate while performing a self examination on camera, with audio added to explain the procedure. She said the video drew anger but also thousands of comments from women asking questions about the exam.
How the Odyssey Collaboration Came Together
Nyong’o and Japanwala have an established working relationship. Japanwala made a custom breastplate for the actor to wear at the 2023 Tony Awards.
Mirojnick said the recommendation came directly from Nyong’o during discussions about how to dress the Queen of Sparta. The two pieces were then developed for specific scenes rather than as a full costume line.
Japanwala said she watched the film on its opening day and that she teared up when Nyong’o first appeared on screen as Helen wearing one of the sculptures. She described herself as a small part of the production.
The Odyssey is Nolan’s adaptation of the Homeric epic. Alongside Nyong’o, Bernthal and Holland, the cast includes Matt Damon as Odysseus.
