There are iconic red carpet gowns, and then there's Hunter Schafer's Hunger Games promo tour, which culminated last night in London with a Prada look that harkens back to Miuccia's popular spring/summer 2009 collection while paying homage to Schafer's character Tigris Snow.

"I love Prada because I think at its core it embodies a kind of delicate, awkward beauty that I feel very connected to," Hunter tells British Vogue the morning after she was seen at the BFI Imax in a gold metallic satin bralette and matching skirt with mini pareo and black bows dripping from all the sparkle. "Prada has always been beyond the scope of trends and so on, it's about the art - this look took me in a new direction."

To create this archival-inspired moment with hair and makeup to match the runway mood of the noughties, Schafer turned to Dara, a longtime stylist friend who took on the role of "deeply obsessed fashionista" for "Hunty". On the pair's mood board, which was placed alongside Mrs. Prada's provocative muses? Rita Hayworth and Marilyn Monroe, as Dara went for the classic glamor of movie stars, signaling Schafer's move to the big screen. "That liquid glamor is really reminiscent of the golden age of Hollywood," explains Interview's fashion director. "I wanted her to shine on the red carpet."

Although Schafer, who memorably closed Prada's fall/winter 2022 show in one of the brand's viral white tanks, has been an ambassador for some time, her access to the inner sanctum of one of fashion's so-called messiahs hasn't worn thin. "Ms. Prada is always challenging us, whether it's through the silhouette, the fabric or the concept," explains Dara, who frequently sends references to the Euphoria actor. "Hunter wants to take that kind of fashion risk - I think that makes them a perfect match."

The artfully crumpled gold on Hunter's "Hunger Games" twin set, for example, is interwoven with wire to maintain its wrinkled integrity. "There's a tension between something that's very put together and something that's fallen apart," notes Dara, who rose together with Schafer after meeting on a shoot six years ago. "It felt like Tigris was taking humble materials and creating beautiful things out of them to keep her family afloat in the Capitol. From the outside, it's less dystopian than a Prada favorite, imbued with all the subversive sensuality the Italian label comes up with every season.

The real message may not be in the notes to the Spring/Summer 2009 show, nor is it woven into the fabric of the apocalyptic movie franchise, but between the two collaborators. "We've both felt the transformative power of fashion so often in our own lives - I hope it encourages others to play," says Dara. Hunter Schafer is a special kind of fashion unicorn and a stylist's dream.