The Birth of Miss USA

Follow the creative process of creating the 2008 representative for the USA from this stunning Dior Original!

 

As we creep closer and closer to the finale of the current International Pageant Collection, there are a handful of Delegates yet to debut. One of the main "stars" of the Collection is always the representative from the USA. This year, we decided to go full couture for Miss USA. Many of our customers and fans will remember we themed an indigenous Delegate last year representing the Native American people of the country. This year, its full Haute-Couture with one of the most alluring Dior gowns to walk the runway in recent years. From the 2007 Fall-Winter Collection of Dior, John Galliano created this gorgeous vision in blended shades of pink and crystal.

There is no other designer as inspirational for us than Dior and this particular Fall-Winter Collection was one of NiniMomo's favorites with an abundance of designs to choose for replication. This particular show, along with the year's earlier Spring Dior collection revealed more Delegate worthy creations than any other collections from any other designers. Here is a look of the Delegates to date that were "born" from this show:

         
Miss Guernsey 07/08   Miss Ingushia 07/08   Miss Mexico 07/08   Miss Kaliningrad 07/08   Miss Paraguay 07/08   Miss Karelia 07/08
         
Miss Portugal 07/08   Miss Slovenia 07/08   Miss England 2009   Miss New Jersey 2007   Miss Siberia 07/08   coming soon!

 

click the video to see the opening for the 2007 Fall/Winter Dior show

 

The process of creating this Dior for Miss USA 2008 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!

the many processes of creating Miss USA

 

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.

With everything in place, and only a final check over needed, Miss USA is ready for her close-up!

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