Last week, designer Adam Selman (the man perhaps best known for creating Rihanna’s crystal column of a Josephine Baker red carpet moment at the 2014 CFDAs) posted a challenge to Instagram: a photo of a massive, oddly shaped package, taped up and ready to be shipped, that was captioned: “I’ll give you $1 if you guess what’s in this box.” No dollar needed: Inside was a pair of red, silver, and blue wings, spanning about 8 feet across—a portion of Miss USA Olivia Jordan’s spangled bald eagle costume for the upcoming Miss Universe competition. After being approached by IMG, Selman had only three weeks to create the look, but jumped at the idea of transforming Jordan’s initial costume idea of a bald eagle into a majestic, megawattage getup. “It was such an out-of-the-box offer,” says Selman over the phone. “It’s sort of a dream come true, actually.”
And actually, it isn’t even that out of the box: Selman’s roots are in costume design, boasting a performance-packed résumé that includes creating onstage ensembles for pop stars like Rihanna, Gwen Stefani, and Lady Gaga, as well as working with Michael Jackson’s costumer, Zaldy Goco. Selman also hails from the South, where sash-adorned culture runs deep. “Secretly, but not so secretly, my sister and I were obsessed and we watched [Miss Universe] every year,” says Selman. “I’m from Texas, so it’s kind of like a thing. It’s a really big deal, and those girls work really, really hard for it, so I appreciate it.”
Though Selman may have had the chops for costuming, Jordan’s proposal of modeling her look after America’s national bird added additional challenges to the design process. “I was like, ‘Oh, my God! That is the hardest theme ever.’ America doesn’t have a traditional national costume other than denim, so anything goes!” says Selman. “I tried to convince her to do more of a cowgirl theme, but she really wanted to be a bald eagle. I presented a few ideas to her, so we landed on a red, silver, and blue one to make it super all-American.” The result is a sparkling bodysuit (“You know I love a bodysuit!”); gladiator-type, thigh-skimming silver gladiator sandals (“This was the first time we made something like this”); and, of course, the wings. Though Selman says he typically tries to stay away from more predictable pageant fare, in this case the plumage was unavoidable. “It was more of the technique I wanted to get across—that was the big goal,” says Selman. “There were 5,000 laser-cut feathers and eight different-sized feathers. My studio is really small, so Olivia couldn’t turn all the way around!”
As for what’s next? Though Selman won’t be in Las Vegas to watch the competition, this may not be the end of his contributions to the pageant. “I’m going to gun for the gown next year,” he laughs. “So watch out for that!”
