May the Most Sparkle Win

May the Most Sparkle Win

Each year the Miss Universe competition is eagerly watched around the world. The main questions asked are: who is wearing what? Who will outdo other costumes? and most of all, who will be crowned Miss Universe 2017?

The winners are tested on a variety of platforms, but the popular national costume display is merely for show. This year costume designs were bold and colourful.

The Venezuelan costume was a flowing blue and white confection bedecked with pearls and a large seahorse sceptre.

Miss Indonesia chose a golden gown in the theme of a golden bird goddess.

Miss Universe Panama wore a bright green costume with flowers representing her country.

Perhaps some of the most notable of all the costumes were those that had been created with genuine Swarovski crystals. This is due to the crystals being made from glass, rather than plastic, and being durable, with metal foil backings that don’t easily peel off. Each year it’s exciting to see which competitors utilized Swarovski crystals in their costumes.

One notable costume was worn by Cheryl Chou, from Singapore. She wore a colourful costume in pinks, yellows, blues, greens, and golds, with rainbow wings. Her headpiece was designed by Moe Kasim and created to represent a traditional bridal headpiece. This headpiece was topped by Swarovski crystals.

Not to be outdone, Miss Universe Malaysia also chose a sparkly white and light orange jumpsuit bedecked in clear white Swarovski crystals. Her costume represented the Patronas Towers in Malaysia. The two towers pointed up from her shoulders, with futuristic silver shoes. The crystals were arranged in square and arrow patterns around her bodice and legs, with stripes down her arms. Many applauded the direction away from a gown to something akin to a national superhero costume.

Miss Thailand wore a traditional dress with gold lamé and gems with a long cascading shawl. This costume was intensely scrutinized and labelled the “Jewel of Thailand”. The crystals in this costume were also Swarovski crystals, and the gown was inspired by old film footage of Queen Sirikit.

Host Steve Harvey announced the winner on Sunday, January 29th. Miss France, Iris Mittenaere won. She hopes to become a dental surgeon, and won with her amazing national costume in glittering rhinestone gemstone jewellery and red feather boas, much like a showgirl costume.It’s hard to imagine how next year’s candidates will top 2017’s amazing costume designs, but it should be worth the wait.

If you’re in dance or show business and are seeking a show-stopping costume for the stage, or a dance dress for a competition, we’d love to assist you in designing and sewing a masterpiece. Our seamstresses are experienced in the proper installation of Swarovski crystals on fabric. Please contact CDP—Costume Design Plans—today and we’ll take your costume ideas into reality so you outshine and out sparkle the competition. 🙂

 

2016 Oscar Stage Shines More Than Celebs

2016 Oscar Stage Shines More Than Celebs

The Oscar Gala has always captured the interest of celebrities and fans alike. It offers recognition to the best the entertainment business has, while still keeping on top of trends and current events. The 88th Oscar Gala, held on February 28th, 2016, not only took our breath away with its astoundingly amazing Swarovski crystal stage, but with beautiful costumes, entertainment, and even exposing the topics of sexual abuse and racism in the industry.

The Oscars were held at the Dolby Theatre, in Hollywood. One entire block was bedecked with bold red carpet and a protective canopy, where the rich and famous gathered for photographs, interviews, and parties.The doors opened to reveal an amazing stage inside. It was covered with over 100,000 shining Swarovski crystals. Some crystals appeared to be suspended in the air, while other crystals were lit up like candles. This set the stage for many beautifully designed costumes.

Julianne Moore wore a beautiful long black halter-style gown with black trim encrusted with sparkling jewels. She wore jewellery by Chopard.

Julianne Moore

Rooney Mara wore an amazing lace-style gown by Givenchy Haute Couture with long sleeves, buttons at the bodice, and with a diamond cut out panel over the stomach. The gown was split up the front with ruffles.

Rooney Mara
Rooney Mara arrives at the Oscars (Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP)

Lady Gaga wore an elegant set of mix and match pure white halter topped pant suits, with a removal long skirt, made by Brandon Maxwell. For her emotional piano performance, she covered up with a jacket.lady-gaga-oscars

Emily Blunt wore a simple pink gown with silver sparkles encrusting the long skirt and covering the straps. She held a matching sparkly white evening bag in her hand. Her outfit was by Prada.emily-blunt-super-916

Tina Fey wore a long glowing purple gown silk by Versace, and beautiful jewellery by Bulgari.tina-fey01

Saoirse Ronan wore a sparkly emerald green gown with tiny straps and plunging V-line. She added jewellery by Chopard.saoirse-ronan

A lot of work must have gone in to Naomi Watts’s strap-less purple sequinned and beaded gown. The jewels were sewn into a wavy design, cascading down every milimetre of her skirt. This gown was made by Giorgio Armani Privé.naomi-watts-photo-jason-merritt01

Even more glitter was to be seen in a sparkling gold long sleeved gown on Margot Robbie, and made by Tom Ford. She wore Forevermark jewellery.margot-robie-photo-todd-williamson

Daisy Ridley stepped out in a simple silver maxi dress by Chanel Couture. This dress was embedded with silver beads.daisy-ridley

Common, the rapper, decided to go against the norm of wearing black tuxedos by Armani, such as Leonardo Dicaprio wore, and choose a pure white tuxedo instead. He did add a black bow tie and black shoes though. lonardo-cammon-oscar

There was certainly plenty of glitter at the Oscars this year. It was hard to decide who shined more: the ladies’ dresses, or the stage itself. Now that this year’s Oscars are over, it will be exciting to see how these beautiful outfits will influence costume design in theatre and concerts.
You would like to have a unique costume, designed & made especially for you? You want to shine like the Hollywood stars dresses on the red carpet?
Contact us for costume consultation or check out our costume references!