Jay and Ana began the design by covering a wire dress form in sticky tape. A time-consuming and painstaking process, each piece of two inch tape (it doesn't come in larger sizes!) is applied to the area where flowers will go. Then we created a full, long skirt form with chicken wire and black felt for the skirt. Jay attached the skirt to the bodice, and voila, a long gown form, ready for flowers!
Once the tape was applied, we had to peel off each piece of backing, and started to apply the flowers at the hem. The skirt was composed primarily of rosepetals, each one individually applied over a lower layer, to create a snakeskin effect. Small, whole roseheads from spray roses were incorporated in a random fashion for texture. The edging on the hem is fuschia dianthus, commonly known as carnations.
Then we created a train of pale pink sweetpeas that ran from the waist all the way down the back of the dress, to create added visual interest. Each flower has to be handled extremely carefully, or it will bruise.
After we'd completed most of the messy work on the skirt, we moved from the staging area inside an empty Coach store, into the main mall, where a platform had been set up so the public could watch as we completed the design. As we worked, a DJ was spinning tunes, a model was getting covered in body paint, shoppers were enjoying makeovers, and event staff were handing out lemonade. The Badgley Mischka dress to be raffled off is to the left.
Here's a detail of the skirt, including burgundy mums that had crystals glued to their centers for an added touch of shine.
The faded ombre effect, taking shape on the rosepetal skirt.
The bodice was designed with white rosepetals, with the neckline edged in lavender phanalnopsis orchids. A purple crystal belt and matching choker added drama, as did the spray of peacock feathers we created for the model's head!
And here's the final creation, in all its glory. The dress took over three dozen man hours to complete. What do you think of the finished product?
