Edit-
OH MY GOD DAILY DEVIATION THANK YOU
I thought it was an error when I woke up and had so many feedback messages!
This is definitely one of my favorite things I've ever designed, and I'm glad so many other people like it too!
Thank you to Lilyas for featuring, and everyone else for your support!

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For the Monthly Theme.

Contest description:

Insect-O-Gram
"Message delivered by insect."
With autumn closing in and summer being at its peak we've decided to go with a more wacky theme this time around. Here's what you have to do - gather your gear (goggles, binoculars, cameras, the usual spying stuff) and start observing because you've got to come up with... insect haute couture! This challenge is all about designing an haute couture outfit inspired by the insect of your choice - mantises, beetles, pretty much whatever you can think of (except butterflies because that would be too easy and we wouldn't want that, would we?) in order to make your entry as original and as colorful as possible. Accessories required.

Include in your artist's comment:
- The name of your insect of choice and a short description
- The reason you chose it
- And a brief description of your design.

The insect I chose was the Spiny Flower Mantis, as depicted by in this lovely photo: [link]

I chose it because I was first drawn to the rainbow-colored wings, and also loved the swirls, spiked claws, and the crazy patterned body. I knew this insect would give me a lot to work with so I could be more crazy and creative with the design instead of staying more literal.

I loved the rainbow aspect, and wanted to play that up a bit more than in the actual insect, but I still wanted to stay true to it. The overskirts and shirred ruffles are inspired by the wings, the segmented and quilted parts are inspired by the body, the spikes are inspired by the claws, and the mesh is inspired by the texture of the wings.
Because the dress is so colorful and over the top, I thought it would be best to give my girl some simple black hair, but I threw on some "bug-eye" glasses to top off the look.
The diamonds on the skirt were inspired by the flaps (I don't know the technical term) hanging off the mantis's rear, and I pictured them being some sort of shiny thin plastic, creased down the middle. All the small red dots are gemstones. The skirt body and top I pictured being out of a shiny lycra spandex, so it would give off a little shimmer, quilt well, and fit really snugly. The rainbow ruffles are ombre dyed pleated organza.
I made the bag more conservative than the outfit because, in theory if this look was ever to be made (which honestly, I'm not sure is possible), I know most people wouldn't have a practical use for such a dress, so the bag could be something they would buy and actually use. I tried to pull elements from the entire design and simplify them down into something more mainstream.

Additionally, I was inspired by this dress by Thierry Mugler: [link]
And Lady Gaga's Living Dress: [link]

Like I said, I don't know if this is even possible to make, and if it is, it would be horribly expensive, but hey, the challenge said "haute couture", so I figured I'd have as much fun as I could before I go back to school and have to design things that people can actually wear

Sadly I ran out of time while working on this, so it's not as polished as I'd like it to be, but I love how the design came out, so when I have time I'll probably finish it up and make a nice background and such, and then resubmit it.

EDIT-
I won! Again!
Thank you everyone so much for your support!

Here's the lovely description they gave it

"Haute couture at its peak, a beautiful example of creativity at its utmost! Considering that the insect in question was not a particularly easy subject to interpret it is a truly impressive achievement and the designer's approach is pleasantly surprising. A very commendable effort that deserves our highest appreciation!"

Featured here: [link]
and here:[link]