“I was sleeping last night and it was one of those sleeps where my eyes were closed, dreams were happening, but my body still felt very awake,” says Jayme Lawson, the morning of the 2026 Academy Awards. The “Sinners” star, who plays Pearline in the movie, is 45 minutes into glam for the big day, and despite running on little sleep, she’s feeling nothing but excitement.

“I think my excitement is just in a place where I’m not overly anxious, so I’m happy,” she says.

The 28-year-old would soon step onto the Oscar stage for the performance of “I Lied to You,” the film’s nominated song, alongside costar Miles Caton and performers like Misty Copeland and Shaboozey.

But first, the red carpet, for which Lawson selected a custom cobalt blue Loewe gown with jewelry by David Yurman, with the help of stylist Jason Rembert. 

“My actual favorite thing about that dress is how it sounds when it moves, because it sounds like water. You know those rain sticks? That we used to get in music class? That’s what it sounds like,” Lawson says. “When I walk, when it moves, when it shakes, it just sounds like a waterfall, like a rainforest. Which I don’t know if that was intentional, but that’s a beautiful, happy accident.”

Lawson first saw a sketch of the custom Loewe gown at the end of January, still reeling at the time that the brand would make a custom look for her.

“I said, ‘What do you mean custom?’” she recalls asking. 

The dress is composed of 3D-printed, hand-painted beads made in Paris, combined with coral beads from India. “So this dress has multiple passports, multiple visas,” Lawson says. “It probably has more Sky Miles than me.”

To coordinate, her glam team of Cheryl Bergamy-Rosa on hair and Billie Gene on makeup opted to go elegant and simple, “because the party really is in the dress.”

“The dress really speaks for itself. And so everything is about allowing the dress to be as elevated as it is. But we are giving a little nod to the blue with some of the eyeliner that we’re working with,” she says. “And also the hair is a very sleek, pulled back look, so that way when you turn around and you see the back of the dress, there is something that really compliments the fun that the dress has.”

The David Yurman cuff earrings add a youthful attitude, and a sapphire ring nods to the hue of the dress.

Despite only starting rehearsals for their performance two days prior to the big night, Lawson was relatively relaxed.

“I’m such a theater kid, and especially when you talk about dancing, that’s just so in my body,” she says. “That’s also how I connect to acting is through my body. And so no, it’s not nerve-wracking in that sense. I’m just like, ‘yeah, it’s time to do it.’”