(8/10/98)
TAINAN, Taiwan (CNN) -- A slender, delicate model gingerly stepped down a department store runway Saturday wearing a brittle, 44-pound (20-kg) wedding dress made entirely of sugar.
The elegant, flower-covered dress is billed as the world's first "edible gown," and it created quite a stir for the Taiwanese department store that commissioned it for an exposition.
The sleeveless dress has seven tiers of colored candy flowers from the waistline to the mid-calf hem, as well as a generous bunch of feathery white netting at the back. Everything, including the veil, necklace, bracelet and bouquet, is made of sugar, according to the designer.
Dressmaker Lu Sa-chou said she wanted to portray the sweetness of each bride just before a wedding. The sugary creation took 250 hours to make and is available for about $2,900.
The exhibition ended in disaster when an unidentified man pulled the fire alarm and the sprinkler system completely dissolved the model's dress.