Rihanna - Glow Gala

Enlighted was commissioned to create this dress in collaboration with a team of Madame Tussaud's stylists, sculptors, and designers. We were inspired by an elaborate beaded ensemble worn by Rihanna at the 2019 Met Gala. In our version we have mounted round LED lenses in between the various sizes of beads, pearls, and gemstones. These lights were created by affixing custom lenses to strings of flat RGB LED pixels.

The LEDs are mounted in a mostly random scattered pattern covering the surface of the headpiece, bodice, skirt, and outer jacket, blending in with the other embellishments when they are turned off. 

Using a DMX interface, the entire costume is illuminated in a variety of animated patterns and effects which are synchronized with other elements of a multimedia performance throughout the room, using a mix of white twinkling patterns and color-changing effects.

This dress is part of a series of illuminated garments that we created for the new Glow Gala room at Madame Tussaud's New York. You can read an overview for the project in our blog entry, or see the following pages for details on the dresses we made for the wax figures of Katy Perry, Lady Gaga, RuPaul, and Priyanka Chopra.