The winner of the ‘Design Belle a Dress’ competition at the Torch Theatre has been chosen! Oh yes it has! And the design is a fabulously glamorous and glitzy, sparkling and stupendously stunning ballgown, which is sure to have you wondering where you can buy your own. But there’s only one place to see it and that’s at the Torch Theatre’s production of Beauty and the Beast this December.

The winner of the competition out of over 80 entries, is nine year old budding fashion designer Ioan, from Tenby. He told the Torch Theatre that he’s over the moon to have won.

“I decided to enter the competition because my mum knows I love art so much. She told me about it and I decided to enter and join in. I thought it would be really cool to see something I had designed on stage. I feel happy, shocked and really excited to see the dress,” said Ioan.

Ioan, who has been inspired by his grandmother, put a lot of thought and effort into his design.

“First of all I looked at different shapes of dresses on the iPad. I knew that Belle loved books so I wanted to make sure they were on the dress. I thought I would change it up a bit and not use yellow like Belle normally wears. I added diamonds to give it more pizazz!”

Tim Howe, Senior Manager Youth and Community at the Torch says that the response for the competition has been incredible.

“We were overwhelmed by the response to our request for help with Belle’s ballgown. We had designs flooding in from across the county and beyond. With so many fantastic entries we were spoiled for choice, and we spent many long hours deciding which one really captured what we wanted for Belle as she attends the Beast's birthday ball," explained Tim.

When it came to choosing the winner, it was a difficult decision for the team at the Torch, but Ioan’s design caught their attention as Tim explains:

"Ioan's design really impressed us. The colours were really exciting and vivid, they seemed like a perfect match for how Belle would be feeling in that moment. He also gave us some fantastic creative challenges with his choice of how things looked - and we like a challenge! I'm so excited to see the final design in all its glory. I know our audiences will love it.”

Ioan’s ballgown design will now be made into a real ballgown for Belle to wear on stage throughout the productions. This will be made by  designer Kevin Jenkins and the Wardrobe Team who can’t wait to get sewing.

All of the designs that entered the competition can be seen throughout December at the Joanna Field Gallery at the Torch, and don’t forget, if you want to see the ballgown in all its glittering glory you’ll need to see Beauty and the Beast, the Torch Theatre’s spectacular pantomime.