LIVERPOOL girls are known for being able to withstand sub zero temperatures in the name of fashion, but this is ridiculous.
A dress designed by Philip Armstrong, carefully carved from a two metre block of ice to create a sleek fishtail gown.
Worth "many thousands of pounds" this Snow Queen sits in a freezing temple of cool, surrounded by intricately carved ice sculptures. It is one of the highlights of this year's Ice Bar in Liverpool ONE - an annual Christmas pop-up on Chavasse Park.
This icicle works serves Cosmopolitans in glasses made from ice. Like a Christmas turkey, you can dress in tinfoil should you wish to venture in. Or not, depending on how hard and trendy you really are.
But if you can't stand the cold, fear not. There's plenty of warmth in the leather-Chesterfield clad main bar, Apres, which last year proved immensey popular and which on Wednesday night, was the venue for a lavish cocktail party to get stuff under way.
The dress, commissioned by Liverpool ONE and London-based Ice Box, which operates the Ice Bar, features a deep v-neckline was inspired by Philip Armstrong’s Autumn Winter collection and includes panels with lace detail on the waist.
Armstrong, who designs alongside partner Tony Burke, chose model Lanie Wilson to present the gown inside the sub-zero ice bar, one of the main features of Liverpool ONE’s Ice Festival.
The Liverpool-based designer, who has clients such as Abby Clancey, Helen Hunt and even Lady Gaga, said: “Liverpool ONE is the ultimate Northern style destination and what better way to celebrate the start of a new winter season than with the epitome of cool!
“We couldn’t believe our eyes when we saw the dress and when Lanie stood in it, it was truely a sight to behold. This the first time we have been asked to create a dress with such a unique material and to our knowledge it is one of the first of its kind. It has been amazing to work with the Ice Box team and Liverpool ONE to develop the concept and we are delighted with the dramatic results.”
The dress weighs about 700 kilograms and was created inside a huge freezer studio by a leading ice artist with the help of two assistants. It took more than 40 hours to carve and took a team of six people and specialist heavy lifting equipment to lift it onto Chavasse Park.
It will now stay inside the Ice Bar, hopefully for the duration of the eight week Ice Festival which also features an ice rink, live ice carving and events galore.
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Below, some pictures from Wednesday night. Ouch.
