Design a Dress Competition

On 30th January 2022 we put out a call on social media for entries to a brand new competition. We asked our followers to send us an image of a dress that could inspire a brand new design for ilovecarousel.com. The image could have been from a movie, a tv show or something a fashion icon wore. We said we’d pick our favourites and hold a vote for the winner! The most exciting part, we’ll be creating a dress inspired by the winning image.

Thank you so much to everyone who sent in an idea! We received so many fabulous images and we wish we could make every single one of them. After much deliberation, we’ve chosen 5 dresses for the shortlist. Our decision was mainly influenced by the facilities we have available to us and whether or not we could do justice to the inspiration images.

See the five dresses that made the shortlist below:

Option 1 by Deirdre O’Brien – inspired by Audrey Hepburn’s classic style

This 1950s style dress is the first of our shortlist options. Deirdre O’Brien sent us three images that combine to create her dream dress! The bodice of Audrey Hepburn’s classic dress, a full skirt and a bow on the back to finish it off. We did up a sketch of how we envision Deirdre’s dream dress to look.

Option 2 by Sarah Pattison – inspired by Emma Stone’s dress in La La Land

The iconic yellow dress from the film La La Land is the second of our shortlist options. Sent in by Sarah Pattison, we fell in love with this idea immediately! The cut of the dress is so simple and elegant. And of course the colour is just fabulous.

Option 3 by Caiena Techart – inspired by Anya Taylor-Joy’s dress in The Queen’s Gambit

We loved watching The Queen’s Gambit when it first came out! Mainly because of Beth’s outfits. So we were delighted when Caiena Techart emailed us this pinafore as an entry for our competition. A cool and relaxed dress that can be worn with layers or on its own! 

Option 4 by Margaret McNally – inspired by Jackie Kennedy’s impeccable style

Margaret McNally sent us this image of the fabulous Jackie Kennedy. In Margaret’s words, ‘She had impeccable, elegant and timeless fashion sense. This dress has a simple design that has transcended the decades and would fit in beautifully today. A dress design that could carry you from day to night. A style that would compliment in any size.’ We couldn’t agree more and had to include this dress in our shortlist.

Option 5 by Susan Lynott – inspired by Audrey Hepburn’s dress in Funny Face

And last but definitely not least, this iconic dress worn by Audrey Hepburn in Funny Face was sent in by Susan Lynott. We love its elegant shape but simplified it slightly for a more contemporary feel. The actual dress worn by Hepburn (designed by Givenchy) is on display in the Museum of Style Icons in Newbridge, Co. Kildare.

That’s all 5 dresses on the shortlist. Now it’s time to have your say! Go to our Facebook or Instagram to vote for your favourite dress. Choose carefully as the winning dress will inspire a brand new Carousel creation! Once the votes are in, we’ll get to work finalising the design and getting the dress made in our factory. It’ll then be available to buy at ilovecarousel.com.

Thank you again to everyone who sent in an idea! We received so many wonderful images and we wish we could make every single one of them. Good luck to our 5 finalists! We can’t wait to see which dress comes out on top.