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Hudson Williams<\/strong><\/a> walked up the Met Gala stairs on Monday in a flowing black train, a powder blue Balenciaga<\/a> suit and red-and-blue eye makeup. His look was met with both praise and backlash, but Williams\u2019 longtime groomer, Aika Flores<\/strong><\/a>, is taking it all in stride and revealing the inspiration behind the bold look.<\/p>\n \u201cTaking a risk always comes at a cost, & I stand by that,\u201d Flores shared on Threads<\/a>. \u201cThere’s always room to evolve, no matter where I am in my career.”<\/p>\n Flores shared in an Instagram<\/a> story on Saturday<\/a> that the Heated Rivalry<\/em> star’s hair and makeup were inspired by the 2010 psychological horror film<\/a>, Black Swan<\/em>, starring Natalie Portman<\/strong><\/a>. Flores captioned the story as \u201ca backstory of the blue eye.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOriginally, I envisioned a white shadow\/highlight to further embody the White Swan,\u201d Flores said. \u201cBut 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.\u201d<\/p>\n In an interview with Vogue<\/em><\/a>, Williams said he and Flores both love Black Swan, and wanted to have a reference to cinema through his hair and makeup.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re creating more, staying fluid, never really locking in,\u201d Williams said to Vogue<\/em>. \u201cWe like masculinity and femininity in everything we do. This [makeup]? We\u2019re just going crazy, having fun.\u201d<\/p>\n Williams said that he thought \u201cAika killed it.\u201d<\/p>\n In March, the Heated Rivalry<\/em> star announced that he signed on to star in Apparatus<\/em>, which Deadline described as \u201ca darkly comedic thriller.\u201d Written and directed by Sofia Banzhaf<\/strong>, Williams and his co-star Dylan O\u2019Brien<\/strong> were recently spotted filming Apparatus<\/em> in Toronto. Williams has also joined the cast of the thriller series Yaga<\/em>, which is expected to be released later this year.<\/p>\n This story was originally published by <\/em>Parade<\/em><\/a> on May 9, 2026, where it first appeared in the <\/em>Celebs<\/em><\/a> section. Add Parade as a <\/em>Preferred Source by clicking here.<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n