“Sydney had sent me a few reference pics for her galaxy-inspired birthday, and after researching, we found out [that one image] was an archival piece from 2008 by The Blonds,” Sydney’s longtime, go-to stylist Molly Dickson shares with Vogue. “The Blonds said the original dress was currently on hold for a museum project, but they would make a very similar replica.”
The original dress originates from The Blonds’s spring summer 2009 collection, one that delighted in futuristic, high octane glamour that the New York design duo defined. The collection, inspired by the 1941 movie Ziegfeld Girl starring Judy Garland, Hedy Lamarr, and Lana Turner, saw models in big, bouncy platinum blonde wigs strut down the runways in chrome-dusted, sherbet-toned dresses in clingy fabrics and shiny corsets in metallics and jewel tones. The look Sweeney took inspiration from was first worn on the runway ensconced in a gargantuan, white faux fur coat, before the model stripped it off to reveal the silver showstopper underneath.
“It is made from rhodium-plated metal mesh material draped on a corset, and features metal shooting stars, detailed with over 1000 Preciosa crystals by hand,” The Blonds tell Vogue. Sweeney’s custom look took six weeks to make and is like-for-like, from the three-dimensional star appliqués across the bodice and hips, to the corseted back and flippy, chainmail-like skirt.
“The dress weighed a bit over 20lbs, but the construction of the dress was so amazing, and fit her so perfectly that she said it was actually comfortable,” Dickson adds. Unlike Spears’s own styling of the dress—with fishnet tights, a black choker, and black platform heels—they paired the shimmering metal dress with similarly sparkly heels by Rene Caovilla, with star detailing that matched the mini-dress.
The Blonds’s spring summer 2009 look, on view at SCAD Museum of Fashion.Photo: Courtesy of SCAD