Here’s what we learnt.
Fittings aren’t always a smooth process.
Because Paolo Sebastian is an Australian label, creating a dress for a Canadian attendee wasn’t exactly straightforward.
“We worked with Keltie for a number of years now, so we have quite a good relationship with her. Because the majority of our clientele is overseas, we’ve got quite a process in place when it comes to fittings,” said Paul.
“Once we have the measurements, we make a mannequin to that client’s proportions in-house so we have something to fit to.
“When they approached us about making the gown, which is actually from our Disney collection, ‘Once Upon A Dream’, we took the dress, made the alterations and made sure it was fitted to her proportions. Then we sent it over and thankfully it fit her perfectly.”
The deadlines are extremely short.
Just last week, Zendaya’s stylist Law Roach caused quite the stir when he revealed that the actress’ dress isn’t ready yet, despite the Met Gala being… in 24 hours.
“They won’t fit till Saturday,” he told the New York Times last Thursday.
While some questioned how honest he was being, it’s not entirely unusual for a dress to be finalised at the eleventh hour.
“[The celebrities try on the dress] two to three months beforehand, and that’s quite a short lead time when we’re talking about a couture dress,” said Paul.
“These pieces are handmade, hand-embroidered, and a lot of people going to the Met don’t find out till the very last minute. And that’s the deal with a lot of red carpets.