Camilla Franks has created a couture gown for a global auction hosted by The Walt Disney Company.
Franks was selected to represent Australia and New Zealand in the Create 100 auction. The project will run until October 30, 2023 across 18 countries and benefit the Make-A-Wish foundation.
The couture gown includes 42 meters of silk, 10 meters of tulle, and over 100,000 hand-applied crystals, all featuring Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse prints.
“From concept to completion, the couture gown, designed for Create 100 has been months in the making,” Franks said. “The train of the gown features 400 crystalised Mickey heads made up of a total of 65,000 crystals. Every embellishment has been individually placed making this gown truly a never-before-seen Camilla piece.”
Franks’ next-generation creative nomination, Bella Bruzzese - who has created fashion and textile designs for artists including Katy Perry and Cardi B - donated a leather and crystal mask inspired by the Cheshire Cat from Alice In Wonderland, titled ‘By A Cheshire Chance’.
Franks said the inspiration for the couture gown came from Minnie Mouse’s iconic bow.
“Part of the Camilla brand DNA that we’ve built into it is that – although it looks like a full couture gown on the outside, it’s quite unstructured underneath,” Franks said. “It has a sense of freedom and play.
“The design team and I dropped everything to pour our hearts into making this gown into a reality. The cutting alone took two full days, putting the piece together took 5 weeks with a whole team working on it.”
The gown will be auctioned off alongside other unique items, artworks and experiences that have a connection to Disney, Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars and 20th Century.
This includes the 'Black is King' catsuit worn by Beyonce, a Disney/Mickey Mouse archival sweatshirt by Marc Jacobs, a varsity jacket by Tommy Hilfiger, ‘The Sea Queen Shoe’ by Christian Louboutin, and a portrait of Kate Moss inspired by Disney’s Tinker Bell by David Downton and Charlotte Tilbury.
To mark the Create 100 initiative, Disney donated $1 million to Make-A-Wish globally to support the granting of wishes for children with critical illnesses.
For over 40 years, Disney and Make-A-Wish have granted wishes together for more than 150,000 children with critical illnesses worldwide.
These wishes include shopping sprees, studio visits, theme park and resort vacations, cruises, talent meet-and-greets, and sports-themed experiences.