In January 2016, Lea Michele kicked off awards season at the 2016 People’s Choice Awards at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles, balancing the structured elegance of a little black dress with intricate semi-sheer detailing.
Lea Michele finishes her People’s Choice Awards beauty look with a textured topknot, softly defined eyes, and dark pink lipstick at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles on January 6, 2016 (Credit: Adriana M. Barraza / Brian To / WENN)
The then 29-year-old actress was nominated for Favorite Actress in a New TV Series for “Scream Queens,” while the series took home the award for Favorite New TV Comedy.
At 5’2″ (157.5 cm), with a US shoe size 8, Lea has long embraced heels as a defining part of her red-carpet wardrobe, moving between pointed pumps, strappy stilettos, and substantial platforms.
Lea Michele pairs an intricately embellished Elie Saab mini dress with black Brian Atwood Astral T-strap pumps on the 2016 People’s Choice Awards red carpet
Lea chose a black mini dress from Elie Saab’s Fall 2015 collection. The thigh-grazing A-line silhouette was balanced by long sleeves and a high jewel neckline, while elaborate black beadwork and lace-like cutouts gave the monochromatic design its dramatic texture.
A closer look reveals the intricate black beadwork, sheer illusion panels, and sculptural cutout detailing of Lea Michele’s Elie Saab Fall 2015 dress
Sheer panels across the bodice created an illusion effect beneath the embroidered motifs, while a slim polished gold belt defined her waist. That metallic detail also established a subtle theme that continued through her jewelry and shoes.
Rather than compete with the heavily embellished neckline, Lea Michele keeps her jewelry delicate, complementing the dress with a slim gold belt and understated earrings
With so much detail concentrated around the neckline, Lea skipped a necklace and kept the rest of her jewelry restrained, choosing gold and diamond earrings from Anita Ko and Ileana Makri. Her textured topknot kept the embellishment fully visible, while dark pink lipstick softened the otherwise all-black look.
She completed the outfit with Brian Atwood “Astral” pumps, whose gold hardware echoed the belt and jewelry.
Lea Michele’s black suede Brian Atwood Astral pumps feature pointed toes, slender ankle straps, and distinctive gold metal T-straps
The choice was characteristic of Lea’s mid-2010s footwear wardrobe. She had already worn Brian Atwood’s black-and-gold Abell sandals to the “Glee” 100th episode celebration in 2014, where the designer’s gold-tone studs and chain details similarly punctuated an all-black look.
She also turned to the designer for suede Brian Atwood platform pumps with a monochromatic Alice + Olivia outfit in 2015, showing how Atwood’s heels became a recurring part of her wardrobe rather than a one-off red-carpet choice.
For the People’s Choice Awards, however, the Astral offered a sleeker proposition. The black suede pumps feature sharply pointed toes, adjustable ankle straps, slender 4.25-inch heels, and a polished gold metal T-bar running down the front. Against the elaborate Elie Saab dress, the linear hardware provided just enough shine without introducing another competing texture.
The low-cut silhouette also left Lea’s small foot tattoos visible, turning another signature detail of her shoe style into part of the look.
A closer look at Lea Michele’s Brian Atwood Astral pumps shows the gold T-bar hardware, pointed black suede toes, slim stiletto heels, and her visible foot tattoos
👠 Explore More of Lea Michele’s Shoe Red Carpet Style:
- ✨ See how Lea Michele’s shoe style evolved from platforms to crystal-trimmed Jimmy Choo mules and strappy stilettos, with three New York looks demonstrating her continued preference for heels that become an integral part of the outfit.
- 👠 Explore Brian Atwood’s Cassandra pumps and the pointed-toe silhouette that defined so much 2010s celebrity footwear, as worn by stars including Amanda Seyfried, Hilary Duff, Emily Blunt, Halle Berry, and Zendaya.
- 🖤 Discover Brian Atwood’s Resort 2014 shoe collection, from streamlined pumps to towering platforms and the Siena T-strap sandal, illustrating the designer’s range of sculptural evening silhouettes.
- 🌟 Revisit another standout Lea Michele look from the same 2016 awards season, when she paired a black Michael Kors cutout dress with minimalist Stuart Weitzman Nudist sandals at a Golden Globes after-party.