Sourabh Gupta was invited to create custom work for Tory Burch’s Gown for The Met Gala 2019, perhaps the most important Fashion evening in the world.

As VOGUE likes to describe the event

“Colloquially and affectionately referred to as “fashion’s biggest night out,” the Met Gala 2019 is a pinnacle of iconic style. A fundraising benefit for the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City, the event welcomes celebrity stars, young creatives, and industry paragons alike. And the excitement doesn’t stop there—the gala also signifies the highly anticipated grand opening of the Costume Institute’s annual fashion exhibition: “Camp: Notes on Fashion” opening on May 9, 2019.”

Every first Monday in May, the city of New York City witness the fashion flock, from all over the world to The Metropolitan Museum of Art for the most special evening which is watched very closely by a huge audience all over the world.

I must admit that I did not know much about the Met Gala until I was approached with this opportunity. Tory Burch’s Designer (Director of Embellishment and Embroidery) reached out to me through my instagram. He had seen some of my recent works there and called me in for a meeting at Tory’s office. I met with the directors and designer and went to my studio and came back to them with a series of samples. At the time I was not aware it was for her gown I just knew they intended to construct a dress incorporating the flowers for The Met Gala. It wasn’t until the day before that I found out that the flowers would be the basis of Tory’s gown.

There were about three hundred completely handmade flowers on the dress. The idea that we were trying to recreate was that of dried pressed flowers in glass. To create that affect in material we used an almost see-through fabric. We started at a very different place with very colorful and a very different mix of flowers but after a series of rigorous sample makings and presentations, the final decision was made to make 300 small daisies each under an inch is size. 

The flowers were completely handmade making each flower unique. Each petal was attached individually to the centers that were hand cut, moulded and water colored. I had to use tweezers to handle the petals as they were so tiny and delicate.The challenge was the deadline. Once the decision on the direction was nailed down, I only had about 5 days to hand make 300 daisies.

To see more about the dress and the details click here

Picture Credits: Tory Burch Foundation