Chapter 26
The Fireworks Haute Couture Gown was born on the runway of the First Misfits collection by Maison Julien Fournié, a Paris haute couture house that has held the officially protected “Haute Couture” designation since 2017. It layers a crossover wrap dress with kimono sleeves in black silk tulle over a draped bustier dress in plum tulle with a beetle‑wing sheen, which surfaces as the silhouette moves. This Haute Couture dress required two months of intensive embroidery — thousands of micro‑sequins and faceted beads set entirely by hand. On 13 July 2026, on the eve of Bastille Day, mezzo‑soprano Marina Viotti wore it at the Concert de Paris, at the foot of the Eiffel Tower.
How was the Haute Couture Fireworks dress conceived?
What is it made of?
How long did it take to make?
Who wore it?
Which collection does it belong to?
The secrets of a Haute Couture Gown: the Fireworks dress from First Misfits
A firework lasts only a second. All my work on this dress went into holding on to that second — into making the instant when the sky catches fire last in the fabric itself. That was the paradox I wanted for First Misfits: to fix the ephemeral in what Haute Couture does most patiently — embroidery.
Two dresses, one silhouette
This piece is a play of layers. Underneath, a draped bustier dress in plum tulle with a beetle‑wing sheen: a colour that is never quite one colour, shifting from plum to green with the light, like a beetle’s wing. You only half‑see this foundation — it surfaces, it breathes beneath the black.
Over it, a crossover wrap dress with kimono sleeves, in black silk tulle. Here, black is not an absence: it is the night sky on which everything will be written. Without that deep night, no firework exists. The plum drape glowing through gives it its warmth — the ember you sense behind the darkness.
Fire without the kitsch
It took two months of intensive embroidery. But time was not the hardest part. The real challenge — the one that occupied my mind for weeks — was to marry several fireworks embroideries on a single dress without ever tipping into kitsch. Fireworks are a dangerous motif: a touch too much, and you fall into caricature.
The answer lies in restraint. Thousands of micro‑sequins and faceted beads, yes — but set one by one by Amman Embroideries, spaced and angled to catch the light and throw it back in bursts, like real sparks. Each burst breathes, letting the black tulle and the plum speak again between two detonations. It is that breathing that turns ornament into emotion, and a craft of embroidery into a piece of Haute Couture. ([lien pilier EN à confirmer — « How a Haute Couture dress is made »])
Its natural stage
On the First Misfits runway, Aïssa Seck gave it its first bearing — a model who works with the greatest houses, with exactly the presence and carriage that Haute Couture calls for.
Born on the runway of the First Misfits collection, the Fireworks dress was waiting for its stage. It found it on the Champ‑de‑Mars. On 13 July 2026, on the eve of Bastille Day, Marina Viotti wore it for the Concert de Paris, at the foot of the Eiffel Tower, before the Orchestre National de France and millions of viewers. The moment the Ville de Paris fireworks set the sky ablaze, its embroidery answered them, spark for spark. I could not have dreamt of a truer dialogue between a dress and its setting.
Julien Fournié
The secrets of the Fireworks Haute Couture Gown
How was the Haute Couture Fireworks dress conceived?
Julien Fournié designed it for the First Misfits collection around a paradox: to hold in embroidery the fleeting instant when the sky catches fire. A motif that easily turns kitsch, the firework is kept in check here through restraint and the careful spacing of each burst.
What is the Haute Couture Fireworks dress made of?
A draped bustier dress in plum tulle with a beetle‑wing sheen, layered under a crossover wrap dress with kimono sleeves in black silk tulle. The fireworks embroidery is made of thousands of micro‑sequins and faceted beads, set entirely by hand.
How long did it take to make?
Two months of intensive embroidery — the main difficulty being to combine several fireworks motifs on a single piece without any kitsch effect.
Who wore the Fireworks dress?
Mezzo‑soprano Marina Viotti, on 13 July 2026 (the eve of Bastille Day), at the Concert de Paris on the Champ‑de‑Mars — broadcast on France 2 and relayed by Eurovision to more than 70 countries.
Which collection does the Fireworks dress belong to?
The First Misfits Haute Couture collection by Maison Julien Fournié, a Paris house that has held the officially protected “Haute Couture” designation since 2017. (
More secrets
Read : The secrets of Haute Couture Outfits
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More than a fashion brand, Maison Julien Fournié is a luxury experience that transcends trends and seasons. Driven by a commitment to excellence and innovation, Julien Fournié continuously redefines the world of ultra-luxury.
Founded in 2009, the house’s history is woven into its haute couture collections, presented in Paris every January and July during Haute Couture Week. For his debut collection, the young couturier was awarded the Grand Prize for Creativity by the City of Paris in January 2010. By his fourth collection in January 2011, Julien Fournié became a guest member of the official calendar of the Chambre Syndicale de la Haute Couture — a first step towards recognition among the great couturiers.
In January 2017, Maison Julien Fournié was officially classified as Haute Couture. This prestigious label, protected by the French Ministry of Industry, is held by only a handful of houses — currently ten — that unite the highest creativity in design with the finest standards of garment making.
Since its inception, the house has been invited to present its collections at prestigious events worldwide, bringing the couturier’s vision to luxury clients across the globe. In March 2023, a Julien Fournié gown worn by actress Audrey Fleurot entered the Musée Grévin in Paris. In April 2023, the first retrospective of Julien Fournié’s work was held at SCAD Lacoste, in an exhibition entitled Haute Couture, un point c’est tout.
While honouring tradition, Julien Fournié has forged bold partnerships with high-tech leaders such as Apple and Tencent, digitising the creation, design and personalisation of his haute couture pieces. He stands among the rare couturiers to fully master the new digital tools. Clients are no longer mere spectators of the creative process — they have become active participants in the singular experience of creating a garment, wherever they may be.
Since December 2020, Julien Fournié has been developing a line of luxury bags and accessories, initially conceived to offer the iconic pieces seen on the runway — previously reserved for haute couture clients — to a wider audience.
