Is Mandy Moore secretly a Grecian goddess? She sure convinced us at the 2022 Critics' Choice Awards, when she stepped out in a billowing off-white Ellie Saab gown, which featured cape-like details, jewel embellishments, and a plunging neckline.

"I wanted to lean into something that felt romantic, but still had a lot of open space to show skin," her stylist, Kevin Ericson, told InStyle when speaking about the the dress choice over email. "Mandy is a natural beauty, so we kept jewelry very simple and let the dress speak for itself."

According to Ericson, one of the main draws was that this design felt unique and not at all like what Moore has worn in the past.

"Usually, we tend to gravitate towards silhouettes that feel more tailored and structural, so this felt like a nice departure," he said. "Since we didn't have anything custom made for this carpet, we tried on many different dresses. Ultimately, this one stood out for so many reasons but particularly because it felt different from any other dress we've worn."

With her hair styled half-up and half-down, the This Is Us actress gave off ethereal vibes as she made her way down the carpet. But a pieces like this definitely deserved a closer look after taking it in from afar — especially with all those embellishments.

"The beading on the dress is truly incredible," Ericson said, providing us with a few close-up photos of the piece. "The dress is from the most recent haute couture collection from Elie Saab and the details are really incredible. It was, in many ways, like she was wearing a piece of jewelry."

That's also why the stylist chose to keep the rest of the ensemble somewhat simple, pairing Moore's gown with Jimmy Choo sandals and select pieces of vintage jewelry.

"The Art Deco ring and drop earrings are from Beladora. I work closely with Winnie Wang at Beladora a lot, and she always has the best pieces. I shared a photo of the dress with her early in the week and she sent me a few options that were immediately perfect."

Moore no doubt topped our best dressed list for the night, and we now know that part of why we fell head over heels for this look is because of the teamwork behind the scenes.

"I do my best to listen to clients' ideas and visions first and foremost," said Ericson. "I feel incredibly lucky that all of my clients have a vision for how they want to look and trust that I will be able to bring those pieces of the puzzle together."

Of course, that isn't always an easy task — especially in 2022, when red carpets are ramping back up and becoming full-on extravagant events again, leaving Ericson's schedule busier than usual.

"Awards season has been hectic because what is usually a few months long has been mostly crammed into one month. All of the hard work and exhausting weeks aside, I think everyone is just happy to be back together in person and celebrating their work. It's great that we've moved out the sweatpants phase and back into gowns."

And since celebrities are among the first to wear outfits right off of the runway, we simply had to ask: were there any Fall 2022 collections that caught Ericson's eye, which we might see on his clients in the near future?

"I absolutely love what Wes Gordon is doing at Carolina Herrera," he said. "And how do you not love Pierpaolo [Piccioli]'s creations at Valentino?"