By Louise Irvine
Fans of WMODA will remember the incredible Believe the Impossible fashion shows featuring Chelsea Rousso’s wearable glass. Leading characters from Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland were dressed in fabulous bikinis, corsets and vests made from kiln-formed fused glass. The success of all the WMODA in Wonderland fashion events has led to several wearable glass commissions for Chelsea, most recently for the PINK-O de MAYO “party for a purpose.”
Wendi Sugarman Bieber, the founder of PINK-O de MAYO, has become an enthusiastic model for Chelsea’s creations. In 2022, Wendi commissioned Chelsea to make a glass corset to wear at the Glam-a-Thon breast cancer charity event when she became a Glammy Award Honoree for her philanthropy. Wendi is a Stage 3 breast cancer survivor and serves as a daily advocate and resource for women and their families confronted with this diagnosis.
Wendi founded PINK-O de MAYO as a meaningful parlay about the battle, the war, victory, and memory of those lost and the life conquest addressing services, programs and assistance to those in need. 100% of all profits from the PINK-O de MAYO fund-raising events go directly to UM Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center and are dispersed to Patient Support Services as well as the CARE Clinic (Cancer Assessment Risk Evaluation.)
For this year’s PINK-O de MAYO event on May 23, Wendy asked Chelsea to make her a glamorous “glasskini”, and she looked spectacular in the iridescent glass design fringed with charms. Chelsea consults with her clients and takes detailed measurements before embarking on her customized design. She cuts patterns in glass, just like fabric, and forms them on molds in her kiln. As I can personally testify, Chelsea’s glass creations are very comfortable to wear. I was delighted to receive a Queen of Hearts gown with a gorgeous glass bodice for my birthday bash in 2022, which was celebrated with TEAquila, Teapots and Tarts at WMODA.
Chelsea has established a reputation for her glass corset couture and made a stunning design for the New York launch of the Corset Maker book by Annette Berkowitz in 2022. Many WMODA visitors will remember seeing Rhanu, our former resident mermaid, modeling a glasskini to match her whale shark tail.
You can see a selection of Chelsea’s wearable glass art when WMODA reopens as we are thrilled that some of her Wonderland costumes are now available for sale in the Studio Collection. A video of the fashion show plays nostalgically in the museum reminding us of all the fun we had at these events.
Wonderland event photos by Suzanne Barton
Read more about Chelsea’s wearable glass art at WMODA
Glamorous Glass
Rock the Runway @ Glam-A-THON
Believe the Impossible
Believe the Impossible @ WMODA
Corset Couture
TEAquila, Teapots & Tarts Event
Corset Couture
TEAquila, Teapots & Tarts Event
