Molly Sims wears a Dress made of Cranberry
Molly Sims wears a Dress made of Cranberry

DALLAS, Mar 24, 2009 / FW/ — We have seen a dress made of zippers; how about a dress made of real cranberries? Created by Los Angeles-based designer Kevan Hall, custom-designed, one-of-a-kind dress that features real cranberries worn by actress Molly Sims stole the show during Kevan Hall’s catwalk presentation last May 19 during L.A. Fashion Week.

Flirty, fun and designed to show a little skin, the Kevan Hall original is made of heavy, cranberry-hued linen adorned with more than 2,000 real cranberries. The berries trim the full, knee-length skirt and cover part of the one-shoulder bodice.

“I used [real] cranberries in the construction of the dress, which was a unique experience. I’ve never worked with fruit as a clothing material before and I’ll never look at another cranberry the same!” commented Kevan Hall.

The designer, renowned for his incomparable tailoring and sensuously draped, streamlined silhouettes, created the cranberry dress in celebration of new Dial® Antioxidant Body Wash with Cranberry & Antioxidant Pearls, a new product from Henkel that becomes available nationwide this month.

An astounding amount of work and creativity went into the design and production of Kevan Hall’s one-of-a-kind cranberry dress. With over 2,000 real cranberries, six food stylists worked 96 hours to prepare the cranberries for use.

Molly Sims and Kevan Hall
Molly Sims and Kevan Hall

Starting with raw, barely ripe cranberries (to ensure they retained their bright color and to avoid wrinkling), the food stylists hand-pierced each cranberry with a needle to release its moisture. Using a commercial-grade dehydrator, they then dried the berries at a temperature of 100ºF for 15 hours.

Designer Kevan Hall spent over 10 days conceptualizing the dress design and fabrication. In addition to cranberries, it is made from light-weight linen. A team of 15 people worked on the dress from design through completion, including a pattern maker, cutter, beader, dress maker and the designer himself.

On the finished dress, the cranberries resemble beads more than actual cranberries.

“Showing off great skin is always in style, which is what I love about this asymmetrical, open neckline. And it looks gorgeous on Molly, who knows the importance of healthy skin,” said Hall.

Following the fashion show, the dress is being auctioned on ClothesOffOurBack.org to benefit children’s charities including The Children’s Institute.

[MARI DAVIS]
Photos courtesy of Henkel

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