SWAROVSKI CELEBRATES 130 YEARS OF JOY
words NIA TOPALOVA
Last night, we celebrated Swarovski’s second appearance on the Met Gala red carpet with four couture looks designed by Giovanna Engelbert, alongside the House’s ambassadors Adut Akech, Alex Consani, and Sora Choi. Celebrating the House’s 130th anniversary, Engelbert blended Swarovski’s emblem with this year's theme, "Superfine: Tailoring Black Style".
This year’s dress code was “Tailored for You”, with tailor-made couture looks in green, pink, yellow, and blue, adorned with hundreds of thousands of precisely cut Swarovski crystals, complemented by intricate inlaid jewels and hand-drawn embroidered feather details featuring symbolic representations of the Swarovski Swan. Giovanna Engelbert shared that this year, her approach was to embody “the characteristics of the Swarovski Swan while fusing them with a study in dandy style.” She used the pieces as canvas to create different representations of swan feathers combined with crystals and exceptional tailoring. “It is something deeply personal to me, and I am honored to bring it to life through Swarovski at the Met Gala." While Parisian ateliers Baqué Molinié and Lesage contributed their embroidery expertise, each of the looks was perfectly complimented with crystal-embroidered Manolo Blahnik silk pumps and monochrome silk coats.
Adut Akech made an appearance in a pink minidress with a coat adorned with organza feathers. Her look was finalised with earcuffs from the Vienna collection, and a necklace encrusted with 25,550 Swarovski crystals.
Alex Consani wore the colour of the Swan - white, enhanced with golden yellow crystal embroidery. Her look was complimented by a necklace integrated into her jacket, handcrafted from 18,400 Swarovski crystals that required a work of 275 hours.
Sora Choi wore a formal coat transformed into a skirt, enhanced by a jewelry-like belt made of feather-shaped metal elements that reminded of a swan’s tutu in motion. The coat, adorned using an artisanal needle and crochet technique, was entirely embroidered with 50,000 stones, including Swarovski pearls, faceted beads, and fancy stones, requiring 700 hours of work.
Giovanna Engelbert appeared with her own interpretation of the dress code - a tailored emerald green three-piece suit with embroidered organza feathers, encrusted with over 200,000 Swarovski crystals and pearls. The look required 120 hours of 3D construction and 120 hours of setting by four artisans. She wore earrings from the Vienna collection, as well as articulated feathers set with Swarovski crystals, delicately arranged in her hair.
A century after Daniel Swarovski’s first collaborations with Parisian couturiers, these four looks stand as a tribute to that legacy, crafted by today’s most prestigious artisans and the finest ateliers in Paris.
