Behind the Scenes With Swarovski’s Crystal-Covered Dandyism
Behind the glistening Swarovski crystals worn on the Met Gala’s red carpet is the painstaking, precise handiwork of artisans.
Swarovski’s global creative director, Giovanna Engelbert, created four couture looks for this year's gala, working directly with Parisian haute couture ateliers Baqué Molinié and Lesage to produce opulent ensembles befitting of the Black dandyism theme.
“I wanted to unify the spirit of the Swarovski Swan with a study of dandy style, creating colorful, artistic interpretations of the swan, constructing feathers from our crystals and combining them with the finest French couture tailoring,” said Engelbert in a statement.
“This project is both a tribute to the craft of Swarovski and a celebration of beauty, culture, and creative legacy. “
The creative director produced looks for a trio of supermodels — Adut Akech, Alex Consani, and Sora Choi — as well as her own tailored, pale green three-piece for the evening, featuring a feathered “jabot” crafted with 1,800 Swarovski Zirconia stones.
Each look was a marvel of craftsmanship. On Sara Choi’s long tailored coat, for instance, 50,000 Swarovski stones (including crystal pearls, faceted beads, and luminous gems) were applied in a 700-hour-long process using a hook-and-needle technique.
And the rest of the looks came together through a similarly laborious labor of love. Adut Akech’s sharply tailored pink tailcoat was styled with a collar of Pointiage-encrusted feathers in a degradé pattern, taking a team of four 145 hours to apply while Alex Consani’s revere necklace required 18,400 crystals, over 275 hours of craftsmanship, and the collaboration of 15 artisans.
Oh, and that’s not all. Once the Gala was over, each woman was caped in a billowing silk monochrome overcoat made of the finest Taroni double satin to transition into party looks. These overcoats were a nod to the ultimate dandy, André Leon Talley, and represented a level of finery he would surely approve of.
