Susan Braeken helps escorts with their cues backstage during dress rehearsal for the Texas Rose Festival Queen's Coronation Thursday Oct. 14, 2016 held at the Cowan Center at the University of Texas at Tyler. The theme was Museum of the Majestic. (Sarah A. Miller/Tyler Morning Telegraph)

Bringing to life some of the most celebrated art and architectural masterpieces that have ever been created, the coronation of Rose Queen Mallory Kristine Curtis celebrated the 2016 Texas Rose Festival’s “Museum of the Majestic” theme.

The coronation is one of the highlights of the Texas Rose Festival, and those in the audiences applauded throughout the program. 

Duchess of the Texas Rose Festival, Mary-Birdsong Gabriel, beamed in a jewel-encrusted gown that featured varying shades of pink and was inspired by the Texas Rose Museum.

Other gowns and costumes that were crowd favorites during the matinee coronation and garnered large applause included those inspired by the Taj Mahal, the Graceland museum and the Gold Museum in Bogotá.

Ensembles inspired by Claude Monet’s “Water Lilies” and the Cockrell Butterfly Center also were crowd favorites.

Lindsey Gabriel traveled from Houston to attend the event, and she and her 6-year-old-daughter, Madeleine Gabriel, expressed that they both enjoyed the show.

“We loved it,” Mrs. Gabriel said. “My husband grew up here, so we come and each year we absolutely love it.”

Deborah Castorena traveled with a group of friends from Decatur, and said it was her first time attending a Texas Rose Festival coronation. She said she enjoyed the show and had a great experience.

“It was absolutely beautiful,” she said. “I felt like I was back in the Renaissance.”

 

THE QUEEN’S ENSEMBLE

Upon entering the stage, Queen Mallory Kristine Curtis – and her gown and ensemble – received applause and a standing ovation from the audience.

Designer Winn Morton and Miss Curtis first met in December at his historical home in Lancaster to discuss their ideas for her dress. While Miss Curtis was expressing what her vision for the gown was, Morton exclaimed, “I see mirrors,” according to the program given out at the coronation.

Inspired by the “Hall of Mirrors” in the Palace of Versailles, several trips to New York were made for the perfect blue brocade, iridescent fabric and gold Chantilly lace for the gown.

By February, and for the next five months, Clara Chumney, of San Antonio, and a team of four seamstresses hand sewed over 200,000 stones and jewels, making the 16-foot-long and 6-feet-wide train a reality.

There are nine small mirrors sewn in every 2-inch square where you can see the French-inspired scrolls of mirrors along the train. The moon and clouds, made of pearls and white bicone beads, in the center of the train were added because Miss Curtis has gone by the nickname “Moon Beam” ever since she was a baby.

The butterflies on the train appear to take flight around the scrolled monogram of Miss Curtis’ initials.

John Ahrens, of Customworks of Dallas, engineered the gown using steel rods placed in the bodice to help distribute the weight of the 100-pound train. His team of four seamstresses built the large petticoat and mirror-encrusted scrolls on all sides of the skirt.

The bodice of gold Chantilly lace is repeated on the fold collar and accented with aqua jewels. The butterflies were hand beaded by an entomologist who ensured they looked realistic with three-dimensional antennae.

Weekly trips to Dallas for two months assured a dress that fit perfectly, and Ahrens told Mallory, “Don’t gain or lose a pound.”

Tom Newberry and Tom Sanders, of Art and Commerce in Dallas, created the crown and scepter that Morton designed. The crown is 14-karat gold encrusted with Swarovski crystals and various colors of blue stones. The scepter also has a blue butterfly on its tip that is designed to appear as if it were just lit.

Twitter: @TMT_Augusta