Whitney Houston's dress | Marc Bouwer | Fashion Unpicked | V&A

Join New York-based designer, Marc Bouwer, and V&A Senior Conservator, Rachael Lee, as they take a close-up look at the glittering dress worn by Whitney Houston at the Grammy Awards in 1994. Bouwer's long-term working relationship with Whitney Houston saw him create hundreds of on-stage looks for the singer, each tailored to her preference for ease of movement and support for her vocal chords. Discover the inspiration behind the striking design and the painstaking process of its embellishment as the dress is prepared for display in our DIVA exhibition (24 June 2023 - 7 April 2024).
00:00 Unboxing Whitney Houston’s dress
00:31 Introducing the dress at the V&A
00:40 Whitney wearing the dress at the Grammys
01:06 Dress designer, Marc Bouwer, in his NY studio
01:16 African-inspired dress design
02:00 Dress construction and fit
03:10 Embellishment
04:39 Original design for the dress
05:05 Mounting the dress
06:25 Ready for display in the DIVA exhibition
DIVA exhibition: www.vam.ac.uk/exhibitions/diva
More on costume at the V&A: www.vam.ac.uk/collections/cos...

[@newchapterasmr]

Really awesome to have the actual designer feature in the video

[@cattuslavandula]

The dress has a Hollywood-Tribal-Egyptian feel to me. Modern and ancient and glamorous all at the same time.

[@jenmartin1730]

Marc Bower made most of Whitneys gowns using Stretch Velvet, none of his stuff was lined. This item could be a stretch velour or velvet thats aged alot. As someone who's made many a stretch gown w/rhinestones I can promise you this would not have been uncomfortable to wear outside of being heavy, and extremly cold when you first put on due to the metal settings being room temperature when they touched the skin.

[@got2bjosh]

The lining is thin & sheer. You can see it in the video.

[@vjhreeves]

Bedazzler. That's the name of the gadget you're thinking of, Marc. It's a Bedazzler. 😂

[@minnae.1747]

I love long sleeved, high necked gowns.

[@jeniallenby8389]

thank you as a museum costume curator I'd been wondering about this one, its absolutely stunning

[@stevenciccone8963]

The V&A team are brilliant, caring curators & conservators. They really honoured Whitney with this display. Houston & Bouwer were ahead of their time visually.

[@jeniallenby8389]

@@stevenciccone8963 they certainly are and did :)

[@vkphoto2245]

Let’s hope Kim Kardashian doesn’t see this.

[@Wee162]

OMG I thought the same thing! Irresistible to a delusional magpie like Kim (she’d think she looks fantastic in it - better than Whitney)!

[@1tuinman]

😂

[@johnaefredricks8792]

LMBO 😂😂😂❤

[@andresalba4709]

😂

[@cvmbdb3871]

Definitely true, we don't want her to ruin this dress the way she ruined Marilyn's.

[@Jackster310]

Magnificent dress for a queen.

[@user-gt3ph5kn6y]

What a fabulous video. Thank you. 👏🏻👏🏻 Having seen the underneath, I wonder if it was a little scratchy to wear for Whitney? But, boy did she wear it well. Stunning dress. 😍

[@dianee5375]

I was thinking the same. I suspect a thick/slick slip to go with it?

[@belindanoonan6217]

I’ve worn costumes, back in the day, with hundreds of those backed stones. The backing is smooth on the inside and absolutely comfortable. Have also “stoned” many costumes. The gadget the designer talks about was marvellous because before that each stone had to be individually hand sewn in. Bugle beads were the worst.

[@carlsbad7113]

Spanx are your friend in this situation.

[@snk1008]

Amazing dress. Love the care and respect the Museum has for A beautiful piece of music history

[@tamarab5751]

So much work for a single garment, just amazing these wearable pieces of art!

[@bnboyjace6412]

Thank you so much Marc! We, her most dedicated fans, know just how much work you did designing Whitney's incredible gowns.

[@Greystorm1619]

Damn that's a beautiful dress

[@ljooni]

I remember reading a quote from some designer that annoyed me, about how a dress can only have two out of three: long sleeves, long hem, high neckline. I absolutely don't remember who that was by but this dress absolutely proves them wrong.

[@bindilove3899]

What a beautiful dress!😲. Whitney was stunning in it. She was such a beauty.

[@PremiumChoice.]

Unbelievable beautiful ❤❤❤

[@annikanilsson6152]

Simply stunning! 🙂

[@marsbeads]

Thank you for this channel. I enjoy it very much.

[@stevenclemons1]

Such a simple dress brought to life by stone placement. Very interesting to find out that the dress was so uncomplicated and not even lined. It was purchased, printed stretch fabric. Goes to show elegance can be achieved using very little, it's definitely up to the wearer to provide the poise.

[@got2bjosh]

It is lined. The lining is sheer, but you can see it in the video. No designer worth their salt would leave a dress unlined. You really think Whitney would spend a bunch of money on a custom dress & be okay with it being unlined much less wear it that way to the Grammy Awards?

[@MicaFarrierRheayan]

Lovely dress! Really fits her mysterious yet warmth persona. She have this mystical goddess vibes and so wonderful when she take the role as fairy godmother in 1997's Cinderella ❤💥

[@ON-ck9eo]

Whitney looked stunning in this gorgeous dress

[@lissandrafreljord7913]

Stunning!!! Pure haute couture.

[@cvmbdb3871]

Thank you so much for sharing this. Marc Bouwer is one of my favorite American fashion designers, and I loved how he dressed Whitney Houston. She looked absolutely beautiful in this gown.

[@caththomas5152]

What a wonderful treasures the V&A succeed to keep, preserve and bring to the public. Many thanks.

[@carolinegreenwell9086]

thanks XX

[@kyerinbennett8391]

Stunning.

[@miguelpaul1164]

Sounds like he did it with a bedazzler!!! That was around in the 90s, but so skillfully done it loooks so chic!

[@Laura-rp9rt]

Absolutely amazing! Just stunning. Thank you for this incredible content. Am loving it!

[@mistywilson3520]

I miss her ❤

[@theKirkman]

❤❤❤ the irreplaceable Whitney ❤❤❤

[@erizabeta]

Gorrrrgeous

[@bustedkeaton]

Youuuu betta lay low 🎶

[@karenj4308]

I had something similar from Warehouse 😂 Not swarovski, more christmas cracker. Was weirdly cold when you first put it on, and it smelled like a swimming costume. But oh, if that dress could talk. 90's forever 💗💗💗

[@Kaytecando]

The dress is gorgeous but Whitney MADE the dress!

[@jordanyeager9220]

Selena Quintanilla was also there at the Grammys that night ❤

[@user-sn2oq4qt7b]

I love the print and the body hugging fabric black and gold giving the african or egyptian vibes

[@user-ul4kr6ht5x]

very interesting in the African influence in the pattern

[@pricklypear7516]

I'd have like to have gotten a few more details. Perhaps to have seen a scrap of the fabric before the crystals were applied. How heavy was it? How long did the process take?

[@techuniquefeature]

nice Houston's dress

[@95KIPPIE]

You have to have the body to wear that too, and Whitney did. She had a long slender thin body that was very beautiful!

[@dietitiandaddy]

DO NOT LET KIM K WATCH THIS!!!

[@Bunny-ch2ul]

Why in god's name wasn't that lined? That must have been incredibly uncomfortable to wear.

[@lizsatory]

I know right? Maybe she wore a slip…

[@christyrussell7872]

Possibly a slip underneath the dress.

[@matthias8122]

Maybe she needed it made really fast.

[@xanderdesignshop]

I thought about it needing a lining at first as well, until I thought about the stretchiness of the fabric....a lining just wouldn't work with how much surface movement would happen with the stretch.

[@Bunny-ch2ul]

@@xanderdesignshop A swimwear lining would definitely work. You can also underline knits with other knits if you're worried about one layer twisting. It just seems like an odd choice to me to not line this. There are definitely materials that would work, and it's not like we're talking 70s or something where there were only so many stretch fabric choices.

[@grannyweatherwax9666]

That must have been strangely uncomfortable to wear Still, beautiful!

[@brandi051974]

I had the same thought. All backing for those crystals digging into skin.

[@bustedkeaton]

​@brandi051974 surely she wore a slip under it??

[@Greystorm1619]

Yeah she definitely wore a slip under the dress

[@grannyweatherwax9666]

​@MissReige hopefully! But even then, you would still feel the disks, I would think.

[@tamarab5751]

That was my thought, but surely she had bodywear of some kind on for a perfectly smooth line, plus the fabric being for bathing suits would mean it's designed not to shift. SO, pressure from the backing discs but they almost certainly didn't move enough to chafe (esp since he made this w/ performing in mind). Sure wish Whitney was still w/ us to see this displayed & know the truth about her unique place in our lives & culture.

[@tracyscott2887]

Why is this in a British museum? Just wondering.

[@MsDaisy173]

Please keep Kim Kardashian out/ away from this dress.

[@MagnusVonBenz]

The dress just looks cheap: stretch with rhinestones that don't even really sparkle.

[@navdeepsandhu7422]

Largest theft markit in the world 🌎

[@justkeepswimming3003]

"Crack is whack"

[@cvmbdb3871]

I make too much money to ever smoke crack, let's get that straight.

[@justkeepswimming3003]

@cvmbdb3871 you got me LOL I low-key felt bad and explained myself and went and looked at the interview. You finished the quote🤣🤣

[@ovh992]

The dress is so tacky. The rhinestones look like they were applied with a glue gun. He always used the cheapest fabrics. The stuff he made for Shania Twain was god awful as well!

[@got2bjosh]

A drag queen dress elevated by a preeminent pop diva & worn on music's main stage.

[@Shishycat]

Kim Kardashian will love that. 😊

[@stevenciccone8963]

"Hell to the no" 😂😂😂

[@cvmbdb3871]

she would ruin it.

[@regineb.4756]

So a not so very sophisticated bathing suit fabric with a cheap gold print and a heap of glass stones. That guy calls himself a designer. That is what girls did at home in the eighties for their party dresses. Even with a lot of effort I do not feel impressed.