Aroundtown MEETS
Black Diamonds Dress Photograph: Ed Wright
Photograph: Josh Carroll
‘‘The dress became the talk of Hollywood. It appeared on the pages of over 100 luxury magazines, made front-page news worldwide and was talked about on BBC News, E! and Access Hollywood’’
which took around 12 months of hard work to create. The biggest logistical problem
Debbie faced was sourcing and loaning these rare diamonds. Extensive thought would need to go into it about diamond size,
clarity and aesthetics to be able to pull off such a feat. “There was no model about
how to launch the world’s most expensive dress so I had to create one. I’d always been more of a ‘doer’ rather than a ‘gonna’ and my new name was Wingham so I just had to wing it.” The stunning chain-mail
dress with intricate peplum and shoulder cape detailing featured 50 2ct black diamonds, 1,500 white pointer diamonds and a 5ct black diamond centerpiece to the bustier. It was valued at £3.5million making it the world’s most expensive dress on record. “It was nerve-wracking at first
working with such expensive jewels but you soon get used to it. To be honest, it was very rare that I was in close contact with the diamonds and if I was, it was usually in a vault flanked by security. We used placebo gems
in production and swapped them out at the last minute so there was limited interaction.” Debbie launched the dress at
Monaco’s prestigious Fairmont Hotel in Monte Carlo and overnight, her career rocketed, thrusting her name into the luxury fashion sector. The dress became the talk
of Hollywood. It appeared on the pages of over 100 luxury magazines, made front-page news worldwide and was talked about on BBC News, E! and Access Hollywood. It opened up a whole new realm
of lavishness for Debbie and this one-of-a-kind piece is still her favourite to date. In 2013, Debbie challenged
herself again, this time creating a red diamond Abaya worth £11.7million. After visiting the Emirates,
Debbie was inspired by the elegantly dressed Arabian ladies
‘‘In 2013, Debbie challenged herself again, this time creating a red diamond Abaya worth £11.7million’’
whose traditional clothing was very heavily detailed with a similar beading style to her own designs. The black and red Muslim
cloak featured 3,000 stones in total including the one-in-100-million rare natural red diamond; this alone was worth £5.4million. It was flanked by 50 2ct white diamonds,
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50 2ct black diamonds and 1,000 rubies, all set in platinum and hand-stitched used 14ct white gold thread. “It was much easier the second
time round as the nerves had gone and I knew what I was doing.” Again, the media went wild
with this record-breaking most expensive garment ever made. But little did Debbie know the Abaya would also lay the foundations for another career path; this time in the baking world. Now with three girls at home
having had a daughter of her own, time was spent having girly days during her sabbatical years. “I’d never been the mumsy
type before and lived off a diet of champagne and canapés. As I was constantly sewing I’d never had the time to cook before and so couldn’t even boil an egg eight years ago. “The girls and I started
watching things on TV like Cake Boss where they made the most amazing creations from cake. One day I just decided to give it a try.” Swapping couture for cakes
and fabric for fondant, Debbie fell into the heady world of patisserie and honed her craft as a sculptress. Yet she kept her talents hidden away in a forbidden cake room within her home. By chance, a client came over
from Dubai and stumbled upon this room, exclaiming this was just what she needed. The lady had been at the Abaya showcase in the Emirates and was looking for the equivalent of one of Debbie’s dresses but in cake form. “It was my first ever cake
commission and of course, I love
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