How Laura Prepon's 2016 SAG Awards Red Carpet Gown Survived a Blizzard

"I did a photoshoot with Taylor Foster, and I fell in love with this pink Carmen Marc Valvo dress—it's made of multi-layered chiffon with very delicate pleats all around. It's stunning," says stylist Hellin Kay. "I had this idea that if we made this dress in burgundy, it would be beautiful on Laura. Carmen Marc Valvo agreed and made the dress for us."

"Laura Prepon's style is modern rock 'n' roll with a romantic, vintage twist. She's really into black, which is something we've been trying to get away from, because it's a comfort zone," Kay says. "Burgundy was a good compromise—there's color, but it isn't too far from black."

"When I pull dresses, I'm very focused, and I zero in on a couple of things that I know will work. I tend to go by instinct, and I know what will work on Laura body-wise, tonal-wise, and style-wise," Kay explains. "I always pull other gowns because there are other events, and it's always better to be prepared in came something comes up." Kay pulled from Carmen Marc Valvo, Dennis Basso, Erin Fetherston, Marissa Webb, Blumarine, Sophie Theallet, Philipp Plein, and Tracy Reese.

"I find these five days alone on the road meditative. It's a vision quest—but without the drugs," Kay laughs. "It allows me a moment to breathe and refocus. We spend so much time in between these two major cities that I like to see the rest of the country." Her trip this year, though, was a bit more dramatic. "I had to sit with my weather maps trying to figure out which roads to take so I wouldn't die," Kay regales. "There were blizzards, floods, tornados, torrential downpours—it was apocalyptic. But I white-knuckled it and survived."

"It was so horrendous driving—there was literally nothing to shoot," Kay says. "By the time I got to drier land, it was the last day of my trip, which was when I took a photo of these Aperlai heels."  

"I requested these pairs from Olgana Paris—the designer's styles haven't been worn much stateside; this is her first season doing red carpet," Kay explains. "They were sent from Paris to Los Angeles."  Prepon ended up wearing the pale pink pair with the ruffled black accent (pictured, far right).

"Laura sent me a picture of these pink earrings from Stephen Webster that she loved, and I thought they were awesome," Kay says of the architectural drop earrings (pictured far left). "It's a cool contrast against the dress and the shoes." Kay also pulled from Forevermark and Dena Kemp.

On the day of, Prepon 'grammed how she preps for the red carpet: "I start by sweating in my infrared sauna. I always feel like it shakes off the sleep fog to break a sweat first thing, as well as sweat out those pesky toxins. Then I jump in a freezing cold pool to jump start my body and get ready for the day! Better than any cup of coffee." 

And of course, she got ready with the help of her glam squad, as well: Hair stylist Jonathan Colombini and makeup artist Spencer Barnes. (We especially love her Mike Tyson tee.)

Hair, check. Makeup, check. Diamonds, check. Prepon snapped a selfie before slipping on her Carmen Marc Valvo gown.

Even though the custom burgundy dress was Kay's favorite, she admits that the "white dress turned out to be the right dress. Really it just came down to what looked best, felt instinctively right for the night, and most importantly, what Laura felt best in. And she looked stunning." 

Not only did Prepon look like a winner, she was one—she took home an award for Outstanding Performance in an Ensemble for her role as Alex Vause in Orange is the New Black.