Hudson Williams walked up the Met Gala stairs on Monday in a flowing black train, a powder blue Balenciaga suit and red-and-blue eye makeup. His look was met with both praise and backlash, but Williams’ longtime groomer, Aika Flores, is taking it all in stride and revealing the inspiration behind the bold look.
“Taking a risk always comes at a cost, & I stand by that,” Flores shared on Threads. “There’s always room to evolve, no matter where I am in my career.”
Flores shared in an Instagram story on Saturday that the Heated Rivalry star’s hair and makeup were inspired by the 2010 psychological horror film, Black Swan, starring Natalie Portman. Flores captioned the story as “a backstory of the blue eye.”
“Originally, I envisioned a white shadow/highlight to further embody the White Swan,” Flores said. “But once we saw the final Balenciaga look and its cool blue hue, we shifted the eye to an icy blue tone to complement it. I kept the white feathered detailing in the hair as a nod to the White Swan element of the story.”
In an interview with Vogue, Williams said he and Flores both love Black Swan, and wanted to have a reference to cinema through his hair and makeup.
“We’re creating more, staying fluid, never really locking in,” Williams said to Vogue. “We like masculinity and femininity in everything we do. This [makeup]? We’re just going crazy, having fun.”
Williams said that he thought “Aika killed it.”
In March, the Heated Rivalry star announced that he signed on to star in Apparatus, which Deadline described as “a darkly comedic thriller.” Written and directed by Sofia Banzhaf, Williams and his co-star Dylan O’Brien were recently spotted filming Apparatus in Toronto. Williams has also joined the cast of the thriller series Yaga, which is expected to be released later this year.
This story was originally published by Parade on May 9, 2026, where it first appeared in the Celebs section. Add Parade as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
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