There's nothing quite like a beautiful princess dress or bridal gown to draw a gasp of pleasure and admiration from a small girl.
This gorgeous soft cream wedding gown, overlaid with an intricate brocade coat and stitched with hundreds of diamantes was designed by internationally-renowned Kiwi designer Trelise Cooper - and it was love at first sight for 3-year-old Alice Anderson when she spied it at the Sarjeant on the Quay gallery yesterday.
It is part of an exhibition of sumptuous Cooper-designed costumes from the 2011 NBR New Zealand Opera production of Handel's opera Xerxes which is on display at the Sarjeant for the duration of the New Zealand Opera School, which finishes in Wanganui next Monday.
Assistant curator Sarah McClintock said the exhibition was beautiful, and people had been amazed when they realised the array of costumes were the genuine article used in the opera performances.
"They are so detailed and carefully made. They're all lined, embroidered ... absolutely stunning."
Xerxes was a co-production between the New Zealand Opera and Victorian Opera in Melbourne, and Australian soprano Tiffany Speight played the role of Romilda and got to wear the glorious ensemble.