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How do you even begin to embody Helen of Troy, Greek mythology’s “most beautiful woman in the world”? For Lupita Nyong’o, the answer was with a little help from a friend from Pakistan.

The Academy Award-winning actor plays the queen of Sparta in Christopher Nolan’s new film The Odyssey. Her costume for the role included pieces made by Pakistani artist Misha Japanwala, who posted about it on Instagram on Monday.

Speaking to W Magazine, costume designer Ellen Mirojnick — whose work on Nolan’s Oppenheimer earned her an Oscar nod — said they “really had to get down to the realism” of the character and it was Nyong’o who suggested they bring on Japanwala.

The artist created an asymmetrical neck and shoulder plate in bronze, which was worn by the actor like a capelet over her gown in a scene where Helen and her husband King Menelaus (Jon Bernthal) host Odysseus’ son Telemachus (Tom Holland) in Sparta.

Mirojnick described the piece as “a broken statue.”

Another piece Japanwala created for the film was a bronze choker that Nyong’o wore with a chainmail kaftan in the scene where Helen and Menelaus bid Telemachus farewell.

Mirojnick said she was initially hesitant to ask the actor to wear the outfit due to its weight, but Nyong’o replied, “I’ve worn more pounds of Chanel pearls. I think I could do that.”

Nyong’o and Japanwala have known each other for some time now, with the artist making the actor a custom breastplate for the 2023 Tony Awards.

Nyong’o was also a guest at Japanwala’s wedding in Karachi in 2022 and borrowed a sari and jewellery from the artist for opening night of the musical version of Indian director Mira Nair’s Monsoon Wedding.