Every night I dream of couture, stilettos, and concrete. But when I awaken I realize that although I may have my stilettos and concrete, couture is a little far from me. However designer Katyee Papusza O'Brien has opened my eyes to real life couture. For a little background history, during Art Basel in Miami this past December I did an event for Kaytee, a couture designer based in Manahttan, where I was installed in a swing about 10-12 feet above everyone's head and wore an intricately made Ice Queen outfit. You can see the full details here. After the event I got to spend some time with the designer and learned how passionate she was about her work, her art, and how much her past has influenced her present being. To say the least my experience with Kaytee was life changing. She inspired me to take my career fully seriously, involve myself more in the arts and art world, and whether she realizes it or not she gave me one the best experiences I've had in my life. Her passion and vivacity is intoxicating, but more importantly her work is exquisite. Below are several of her pieces that are for sale on Smashing Darling's online store.

To view all of Kaytee's work you can visit her website, Papusza Couture. Kaytee will be traveling for the next several months but if you are interested in any of her pieces you can contact her through her website. She also works very closely with milliner, Katie Burley whom I will be doing a review on shortly. Below are some photos of the Ice Queen event to give you an idea of how intense Kaytee really is.