Meryl Streep is celebrating her 20th Oscar nomination this year, so her outfit to the ceremony is bound to be historical. It’s no wonder every designer in the world is waiting in line to get their hands on her seams.

According to Karl Lagerfeld, Meryl had her eyes on a beautiful gray silk gown from his recent collection for Chanel — in fact, she planned to wear it for Sunday’s ceremony. All she asked was that the neckline be higher, so naturally they began to work.

“I made a sketch, and we started to make the dress,” Karl explained to WWD. A few days later, Streep’s rep called him to say, “‘Don’t continue the dress. We found somebody who will pay us.’”

Karl noted that Chanel has no policy of paying celebrities to wear its clothes, no matter what their status is in Hollywood. But even though they’re not paying her additional income, Karl says there are hundreds of thousands of dollars that go into it regardless.

“After we gift her a dress that’s 100,000 euros [$105,000], we found later we had to pay [for her to wear it]. We give them dresses, we make the dresses, but we don’t pay.” But despite the change of plan, Karl says the gray silk dress is still hers. “She could keep the dress because of the size. It’s couture. It’s perfect for her.”

“A genius actress, but cheapness also, no?” he added.