Going backstage! How the LEGO® Botanicals dress was created

Get ready to strut your stuff and join fashion designer Marina Hoermanseder backstage, to discover how she created her ‘show-stopping’ Circus-themed dress entirely out of LEGO® bricks.

Picture the scene: you’re all caught up in the glitz and glamor of Berlin Fashion Week – cameras flashing, elegance in every step. It’s haute couture, darling!

Then, BAM! A red, white and blue brick masterpiece strolls onto the runway, featuring 44 LEGO Botanicals roses. It’s not your usual runway fare but it’s certainly a unique way to steal the show.

Fashioned from a whopping 30,000 LEGO bricks, Marina Hoermanseder’s LEGO Botanicals dress was an instant sensation – a chic, whimsical fusion of fashion and LEGO elements.

So, grab your backstage pass as we delve into the making of this sensational creation with Marina Hoermanseder herself!

Fashion first

A French-Austrian designer based in Berlin, Marina has been setting trends and turning heads with her leather pieces and buckle designs since debuting her namesake label at Berlin Fashion Week 2014.

“My path to fashion design was influenced by a mixture of family history, personal experimentation and search for creative fulfilment,” says Marina. “I aim to evoke a sense of attention through my clothes. When people wear my designs, I want them to stand out.”

A collab to remember

After a four-year hiatus from Berlin Fashion Week, Marina made a grand return with Marina Hoermanseder Circus, her Autumn-Winter 24/25 collection, by celebrating life’s vibrant colors through the circus of childhood emotions. And who better to join the circus than the LEGO Group!

This isn’t the designer’s first collab with the LEGO Group, of course. As part of the LEGO ‘Rebuild the World’ campaign (2020), Marina expertly crafted a hand-formed, vase-shaped dress, made up of a colorful wonderworld of LEGO bricks, paving the way for her latest LEGO Botanicals creation.

“It was such a pleasure to work with the LEGO Group that I wanted to do it again,” says Marina. “I had the dream of creating an entire dress made of LEGO bricks, leaving no space untouched – and I was thrilled when the LEGO Group shared the same enthusiasm and made it happen!”

All about technique

Believe it or not, designing the LEGO dress wasn’t as simple as playing with bricks (although there was plenty of that too, of course!). It was a two-month process filled with all kinds of different techniques – from digitally designing circus tent patterns in Photoshop to sculpting the dress’ silhouette with the ancient craft of boiling leather (cuir bouilli) – a marvelous mix of modern and medieval!

“The Botanicals Collection played a significant role in shaping our design,” says Marina. “Without it, the incorporation of roses into our concept might not have happened.”

The biggest challenge? “Designing the dress with its curves and ensuring complete coverage with LEGO bricks!” But we think you’ll agree, the team pulled it off! Once the design was locked in, the LEGO pieces were painstakingly glued, one by one, to the dress before hitting the runway...

From toybox to runway

So, now you know how the dress was made, but how was it received? Well, it won’t surprise you to hear that the response was “overwhelmingly positive” with extensive media and press coverage praising the dress.

“This dress, with its delicate construction and intricate details, stood out as one of the most precious pieces in the entire show,” says Marina. It took a team of four just to dress the model, but the effort was well worth it – she truly dressed to impress!

“I believe the dress resonates with so many because it evokes childhood memories and serves as a reminder not to take fashion too seriously,” continues Marina.

Now an expert in both fashion design and LEGO building, Marina sees lots of similarities between the two; “In both, creativity knows no bounds, allowing for countless combinations and possibilities. The process for both can be described as “going with the flow” – planning everything in advance isn’t always possible.” But we imagine that’s half the fun!

Thanks, Marina – we can’t wait to see the next collab. We’ve seen a dress made from LEGO bricks, but how about a LEGO brick made from a dress? Hmm, leave that one with us...