Teen goes viral for designing, sewing and painting her own graduation ball gown

A recent high school graduate in the Phillippines designed and painted her own graduation ball gown with help from her mom — and now she’s going viral on social media for it. 

Ciara Gan shared a set of photos on Twitter with a caption that reads: “i made and painted my own gown for my graduation ball! 💚✨ i painted over 80 flowers, sewed + stoned my dress with my mama and designed the whole thing myself! 🧡🌼” 

On Wednesday, Gan told FOX 5 that she and her mom bought the materials for the gown — 13 yards of fabric, crinoline, regiline, pilon and Swarovski crystals — and had originally asked someone else to help them sew it, but “the dress ended up horrible," she said.  

That’s when Gan and her mom jumped into action and designed the gown themselves. 

“My mom and I made... sewed each panel of the skirt one-by-one (there are about 12-13 I think!) It took me about a whole month to make the whole thing (conceptualizing and drafting).For the painting, it took five days,” said Gan. 

Gan says the inspiration for the gown came from her mom because she pushed her to make the dress. 

“I really wanted my dress to reflect my personality, thus the lilies and bright colors,” said Gan. “My dress tells a very personal story about the things I hold close to my heart — lilies, the color green, painting, and creating new things.”

Although Gan says she makes art because it makes her feel “happy and liberated” and like “nothing else matters,” she told FOX 5 she doesn’t plan on pursuing art for college. 

“I actually want to develop more skills... that’s why I’m taking up a science-related course instead. I want to be able to hone my skills in the arts, but learn something totally different along the way!”