How Zac Posen Created Five Of The Met Gala's Most Innovative Looks
He dressed the likes of Katie Holmes and Jourdan Dunn
Photo: Getty Images
Watching every look on the Met Gala is very entertaining, from Gaga's dramatic entrance to Zendaya's princess moment, but learning about how they're created is just as fascinating.
Monday's Met Gala showcased some of the most innovative designs in fashion. Zac Posen was behind five of the creations seen on the red carpet, as worn by Katie Holmes, Julia Garner, Jourdan Dunn, Nina Dobrev and Deepika Padukone.
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Despite each look being so different, they were all made using the same techniques. Posen used 3-D printers to create parts of the dresses worn by the celebrities to bring to life this year’s theme Camp: Notes On Fashion.
The designer met with scientists, engineers and designers at the manufacturing centre General Electric in Pittsburgh to help him bring his designs to life. He told The Hollywood Reporter that the visit "really got my imagination going with what could be possible”.
Photo: Getty Images
His gown for Holmes was made of 300 yards of tulle, which he called “a real glamour piece in a Prince purple metallic”.
The purple palm-leaf sculpture was created by a 3-D printer, the same technique used to create Garner’s printed headpiece that she wore with a golden gown.
Photo: Getty Images
Dunn’s dress, which resembled a floral design, was made of 21 individual 3D-printed rose petals that were then attached to a titanium frame.
“We spent about five months really refining each petal, looking at them in digital 3-D and doing models in advance,” Posen explained that each print-out took around 100 hours to make.
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Photo: Getty Images
“Then we created this magical lacquer so the colour shines and seems to shift as Jourdan moves.”
With Dobrev’s glass-looking dress, her bustier was 3D-printed in four separate pieces and was then draped in fabric.
This process took 200 hours which, according to Posen, was a "homage to sculptures in a museum,” Posen explained.
Photo: Getty Images
Photo: Getty Images
Bollywood star Padukone looked like a real-life princess in one of Posen’s blush pink designs, with delicate 3D-printed embellishments were inspired by sea creatures.
“I spent so much time looking at all the materials and the different structural weights; GE Additive did all the engineering, but I really loved learning what was possible.”
Photo: Getty Images
“Beyond that, there was always a central thought: How do you create something that evokes emotion and surprise, but also pushes the notion of fashion as an art form? Because I do think that idea is more important than ever.”
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This article originally appeared on Harper's BAZAAR UK.