Egyptian couturier unveils $15mln wedding gown

DUBAI: Egyptian couturier Hany El-Behairy presented his annual fashion show in Cairo on Dec. 23 to a star-studded front row.

And as is custom, the eveningwear designer closed the show with a jaw-dropping wedding gown, modeled by Egyptian actress Mai Omar, that is valued at a staggering $15 million.

The reason for the hefty price point? The heavily-embellished dress is made out of hundreds and hundreds of tiny diamonds and gemstones.

The “Rayah El-Madam” actress wore the sparkling, high-low gown, which looks like a minidress at the front and features a long, floor-trailing train at the back, with a matching, star-embellished veil.

The diamond-encrusted frock joins the list of other famous costly wedding gowns, such as Swarovski jewelry heiress Victoria Swarovski’s custom-made $1 million gown and Kim Kardashian West’s half-a-million dollar Givenchy by Riccardo Tisci wedding dress.

However, the title of the most-costly wedding gown previously belonged to a 2006 collaboration between designer Renee Strauss and jeweler Martin Katz, which resulted in a striking creation covered in 150 carats of diamonds and which was valued at $12 million.

It’s not the first time the Egyptian designer set out to create the world’s most expensive wedding dress. In 2017, El-Behairy sent out Egyptian actress Yousra El-Lozy in a diamond-embellished design that was estimated to be worth $4 million.