I knew the dress that transforms Cinderella into a beautiful princess needed to be big – very big. It had to be a showstopper ~ Lily James

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Yes, Lily James, you SHALL go to the ball! Swooning Cinderella fans say it's the most breathtaking cinema gown ever. Now its fairy godmother designer reveals how she wove her magic...

I knew the dress that transforms Cinderella into a beautiful princess needed to be big – very big. It had to be a showstopper.

Sadly, there was no real-life fairy godmother to conjure it up. In fact, it took a team of 20 people 4,000 hours to create eight versions of this very special gown.

The result? Rave reviews when the film, directed by Kenneth Branagh, opened in the UK a week ago. Cinderella – played by Downtown Abbey’s Lily James – has to dance and run away into the night, and I wanted the dress to look as light as air, a water color in motion. Costume-maker Jane Law and I achieved that with the choice of fabric and by using many different shades of shimmering blue.

Girls...AND THE WAIST? IT'S AN ILLUSION!•Creator Sandy Powell says outrage over Lily’s slender waist was misplaced. It’s actually an optical illusion – her waist looks tiny because the skirt is so huge. • The top layer of the gown is silk crepe-line, a very lightweight, fine silk. The layers underneath is made up of a synthetic called yumissima, an incredibly light (and very expensive, about £150 a meter) material which floats when thrown in the air. • Lily always went to the loo before being stitched into the outfit... but if nature called again, a mini camping portable loo was slipped under her dress. • The designer and her team are sworn to silence about the cost, although some estimates have put it at about £11,000 per dress. But you can buy a similar design on the High Street for £100 – about 100 times less. check out the rest of the story...

Cinderella – played by Downton Abbey’s Lily James – has to dance and run away into the night, and I wanted the dress to look as light as air, a watercolour in motion.

Costume-maker Jane Law and I achieved that with the choice of fabric and by using many different shades of shimmering blue