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the process of creating this dior inspired ensemble for our usa 2008 representative began with the need to find the correct material. often, when we design, many of the fabrics we purchase, however beautiful and rich, often do not come with the patterning needed. in the past year or so we have realized that taking the extra time to actually hand paint a pattern onto our fabrics ends up being more successful in the long run. it is extremely rare to find a fabric that has the exact pattern we need when replicating a fashion. in the case of this stunning pink gown from dior, the subtle blending of pinks was something that we definitely had to manipulate. so, the fabric ended up outside our studio, (on the driveway to be exact!) and we proceeded to spray the original pink taffeta to achieve the blended colors.

once dried, marie began to sew the foundation for the gown. we usually create these gowns in pieces, the pieces that require hand-beading are always the first to be done. once a panel has been prepared, it goes off to one of our talented beaders (yes, we created this word!) for production. here you can see rosa working on the draping portrait collar/sash that encompasses the bodice of the gown.

one of the most time consuming and challenging areas of replicating this Dior is achieving those amazing pleats that galliano for dior is famous for - after much trial and error, we have successfully gotten those pleats down to a science!


we decided to add some more hand-beaded accents to the gown along the pleated tiers. following the original beadwork on the bodice sash, crystal hand-sewn beadwork in tiny filigree designs have been painstakingly added. hand-sewn beadwork has really become the foundation of what sets us apart from our colleagues. it can be a very time consuming process and those of you with the experience of needlepoint know just how time consuming this can be! however, the finished results are always stunning - we just cannot imagine the time and effort put in by the dior team of seamstresses that must add hand-sewn beadwork to real scale fashions!

as miss usa's ensemble comes to a close, its time to choose the head mold. we chose the the blonde jazz baby for this year's representative. here you see the process of rooting the lashes for miss usa, that's always our first step. after she's been rooted, its time for her facial makeover. here we are testing out a lip color that we think may compliment the gown perfectly. eye color? a deep artichoke shade is what we chose.

because of her intricately styled hair, setting the curls for a few hours was necessary. after the hair was set, it was time to add her jewelry. like dior, we decided to add this sparkling headband of rhinestone floral filigree. large, decadent earrings, a dior staple, have also been added as well as a large rhinestone cuff bracelet.


follow the creative process of creating the 2008 representative for the usa inspired from this stunning christian dior original!