Monday night, Norwegian salmon empire heir and model Gustav Witzøe attended his second-ever Met Gala dripping in a crystalline look custom made by Atelier Versace and invited by Donatella herself.
This year's dress code was "The Garden of Time," inspired by J.G. Ballard's 1962 short story with the same title. While most attendees opted for floral interpretations, Witzøe's was inspired by Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night's Dream, in which the protagonists find themselves in a forest inhabited by fairies.
"We started with a mood board of 19th century paintings by Sir Joseph Noel Paton, depicting the character Oberon, the King of the Fairies," a representative from Atelier Versace told PAPER. "We did a lot of research on materials and colors to be as accurate as we could to the paintings. We wanted to create the effect that Gus was almost coming out of one of the paintings."
To achieve the feat, the team constructed the look in three pieces: a catsuit in illusion tulle, completely hand-beaded in Milan with 53,000 crystals made to look like sheer water drops, a raw-edge chiffon tunic in nude tones and a cape in bronzy rose tones cut in a specially-made iridescent raw silk with a draped dramatic collar. It took more than four months to complete the construction of the look.
Of course, PAPER had to follow along to see the glitz and glamour come together in an exclusive photo diary, below.
Photography: Ole Martin Halvorsen
