Chocolate Dresses Sweeten Up The Runways Of London
Whether you are a 5 year old getting ready for Halloween or a parent completing an online culinary course before trick-or-treaters attack your door, chocolate is going to be on your mind. It seems that the fashion world has been bit by the chocolate bug as well.
The Salon du Chocolate is the world’s largest chocolate fair open to the public. For almost 20 years, Le Salon has been treating visitors to exhibits from Britain’s most beloved chocolate brands as well as exhibits from the best chocolate makers around the world. The fair includes demonstrations, talks and interactive workshops that allow visitors to sit, chat and eat chocolate with some of the biggest names in the chocolate industry. The main event is the Gala Chocolate Fashion show which showcases the work of some of the best designers and chocolatiers in the industry.
The Gala Chocolate Fashion show took place on Oct. 18 at the National Hall in London. The show featured clothes by British designer Lauren Smith and a crew of master chocolatiers and food artists who helped create pieces literally made from chocolate.
A graduate of Edinburgh College of Arts, Smith has been working non-stop since she won gold at the Graduate Fashion Week awards. Smith was hired by the esteemed Lindt Gourmet Chocolate to construct the “Eternal Diamond” dress, the centerpiece of the Salon du Chocolate collection, that is covered in 40 pounds of chocolate and is accented with chili and orange segments. The chocolate was carefully layered by hand on top of thick but workable canvas. A handbag made from 10 pounds of chocolate and a haute couture chocolate hat complemented the dress perfectly.
It took Smith and her team nearly two weeks to finish the dress and its accessories. The thickness of the cloth made stitching the material difficult. They also had to experiment with different chocolates that could withstand the dress-making process as well as remain cool as the model wore the creation down the runway.
The 40-pound dress wasn’t the only piece that caught the eye of fashion patrons that night. A bikini designed by Fruitful Blooms and Bikini Fling was adorned with white, milk and dark chocolate and turned some heads. The chocolate was shaped into leaves, feathers and flowers following a wild jungle theme. Patrons also enjoyed a piece from a local patisserie, On Cafe, which featured a full-length gown covered in macarons. Both the bikini and gown were made at the request of Salon du Chocolate for the fashion show.
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