Nick Verreos for Orbit Gown: Miss Universe Stefania Fernandez-Behind The Scenes!!

Behind the Miss Universe Orbit Gum Gown...Stefania Fernandez, Miss Universe 2009 wearing Nick Verreos for Orbit Gown

Recently, I had the pleasure of designing and creating a custom gown for the most beautiful Miss Universe 2009, Venezuela's Stefania Fernandez. It was a collaboration with Orbit Gum. I have done several "Special One-of-a-Kind" Creations just for Orbit Gum to emphasize that ORBIT is the most Fashionable gum in the country! Orbit On A Mannequin: The Nick Verreos for Orbit Gown for Miss Universe 2009 Stefania Fernandez, Nikolaki Studio Los Angeles

They gave me one of the new prints for their gum wrappers and my design partner, David Paul and I had it custom printed onto chiffon--and then from there we created a one-shoulder "Goddess Gown". The gown was hand-delivered(!) to Stefania to wear at the People En Español 50 Mas Bellos event in New York. It was definitely a Project Runway-like "Make It Work" scene at my studio, since the Orbit clients gave me only two weeks from start to finish and Stefania was in Brazil and it took several days before we even got an "approval" on what style she liked (from my sketches). Blue Muslin: Model Lisa Blades (in the "Stefania Fernandez Orbit Gown" mock-up) and Nick Verreos

Along with the printer First2Print (love them!), David Paul, my Nikolaki Design partner (as well as the official gown-cutter!), my wonderful seamstress, and my fit model, Lisa Blades (who substituted for Miss Universe when I couldn't be in Brazil to meet with Stefania) we got it done!

Click BELOW for some Behind-The-Scenes Footage from Our NIKOLAKI Studio while creating the "Stefania Fernandez Orbit Gown":

Happy Mother's Day...from Nick Verreos

Raquel Verreos, My Mom...Jim and Raquel Verreos, Venezuela, circa late 60's-early 70's

And you wonder why my mother was my "original" Muse? Hello! Take a look at that bouffant! And that effortless sense of style. Something that obviously attracted my dad back when he was a Foreign Service Officer working for the US State Department. I found these old photos of my mom and since it is Mother's Day, I thought it would be nice to put them here--as a Tribute to her.Here she is (above) at a Diplomatic Function in Panama (Central America), with all the other foreign Diplomat's wives (the wives of the Chinese and Japanese Ambassadors I think, among others)--love that pouffy skirted dress! Very 60s Retro Chic. Oh, I forgot, it was the 1960's!!!And here is my mom not too long ago--OK, about 14 years ago, at my sister, Rita Verreos', wedding in Athens Greece, wearing one of my Nikolaki Custom Made-To-Order Creations, a silk crepe cocktail dress perfect for the Mother-of-The-Bride....in a Grecian Summer Wedding!
Happy Mother's Day. Thank you for all those sketch notebooks, pencils, crayons and Vogue Magazines you bought me when I was only 14 years old! I think you had a "Mother's Intuition" of what would happen later...