As you know, I was selected among the 20 finalists for the contest “My little printed dress” organized by Burda to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the famous brand.
What a joy it was to receive the confirmation email of my selection at the beginning of February!
A few emails follow for the details for the final on 2/13:
- At what time should we arrive?
- At which Heysel palace in Brussels?
- How will the day unfold?
- …
The excitement only rises and the stress starts to show its face.

Finally, the big day arrives.
The day before, I checked my bag three times. Yes, I have the “right” shoes, the dress, the stockings, my favorite lipstick (you never know if the makeup artist doesn’t have the right color…)
In the morning, last check, and off to work.
After this day of work, I meet my mom who will accompany me during this fantastic experience.

We leave together towards palace 3, the meeting place.
I’m so eager to meet Oriane la grande rouge and Astrid De Poix that I’m on social media and I also want to meet the other finalists; I’m sure it will be full of wonderful encounters.
Here we go, we pass through the door.

Heading to the welcome desk. We confirm our presence and receive our VIP badges and the program to follow.
At the desk, I find Remy Penant with whom I had some courses in 2016.
Surprise, he is selected too and introduces me to Lily his model.
We get to know the other finalists. I who thought I would only meet Belgians, meet French women from all over: Nantes, Strasbourg,... but also from Switzerland and Spain! Wow, I admire their motivation, coming from so far away...

First stage, the first rehearsal without clothes with all the participants.
We find Oriane and Astrid, the organizers, the DJ...

The instructions are given:
- first solo round: we go to the end of the runway, a small pose and come back
- round of 2: we do 2 poses, cross at the end of the runway, again 2 poses and back backstage
- third round: all participants in single file.

And there, Mr David Jeanmotte arrives, he demonstrates to us "how it should be done". It's hilarious and it relaxes the atmosphere. We all laugh, but we listen to his good advice because indeed, he knows his stuff.

Second stage: Put on the dress and go to makeup and hairdressing.
And it is during this stage that the jury examines us thoroughly, asks us questions and tests our finishes.
It's a bit stressful but again our Belgian presenter is there to lighten the atmosphere.
All the candidates chat, share their sewing tips and discuss their outfit, it's really nice.

Here it is, it's my turn, I go to makeup. 2 people take care of you. You almost feel like a real model.
Then, it's the turn to borrow the Zabok jewelry, partner of the fashion show.
Finally, the final rehearsal arrives, before the real fashion show. The tension is palpable backstage even though we know the jury has already made its choice.

It's my turn. My family made the trip and is here to support me. As well as my great colleagues. I am really over the moon. What a great experience!

Once the fashion show is over. Drumroll... because the announcement of the winners is coming. Each one is called in the order of the results.
I finish in eleventh place. I am very happy with my position because this is the first sewing competition I participate in.
And then the top three is announced and the big winner is Remy... Congratulations to him and his model.

I win a bag full of goodies from the partners: Zabok, femmes d'aujourd'hui, la maison victor, ... and of course burda

What a wonderful experience, I will keep a good memory of it for a long time.