A crowd favorite was the finale dress designed by Alaa Najd and executed by Pierre Abi Hayla, pastry chef consultant and owner of Le Noir Atelier du Chocolat. “I wanted to design the dress in modern and futuristic away, so I created this volume, but the patterns on the dress are Moroccan, oriental, arabesque inspired and the headpiece was inspired by the veil they wear,” Najd said after his runway debut.
The dress’ detailing, from the voluminous skirt to the chocolate appliqué flowers was an exercise in patience. Making use of around 6,000 chocolate elements, working with chocolate is second nature for Abi Hayla, who participated in last year’s Salon du Chocolat fashion show as well.
