Sketch to Cake: Laurie Collins’ Julien Fournié Inspired Couture Wedding Cake
Printed From https://www.cakecentral.com/blog/61887/sketch-to-cake-julien-fournie-laurie-collins-couture-wedding-cake 2024-04-19
Laurie Collins
of Whisk Confections in Little Elm, Texas created a striking wedding cake for the Fashion Issue of Cake Central Magazine Volume 7 Issue 4. Laurie’s vibrant wedding cake was inspired by a sparkling, jewel-toned Julien Fournié Haute Couture Paris gown.
Laruie Collins shares how she was inspired by the intricate beading and rich colors of this dazzling Julien Fournié gown.
I was instantly attracted to the sequins, beading, and the unique color combination and I could hardly wait to put my ideas into a sketch.
When deciding on a design I like to use a two-step process, first I like to let myself sketch freely in black and white, letting the cake tiers/shapes drive the process. Second, I like to shade in the design to see if the colors will work together as expected. Creating a sketch will solidify my design ideas.
Once a design is sketched I like to make the sketch come to life. We’ve found that often you are more creative and more productive this way.
Design To Reality
If you approach a design with just an idea in your head, you run the risk of not pushing yourself to accomplish and create something new and fall back into creating something you have already done.
The only section of the design that gave me some trouble was the assembly of the pastillage bow. You want a bow to be thin and have movement to bring it to life. It tends to be almost like a puzzle to fit the pieces together and make it flow like a real ribbon.
I created a new painting technique on this cake using the fondant as a paint medium component. It created an interesting texture that I wanted on the top tier. Using edible watercolor to create the same effect it would have been flat with no texture.
The only compromise that was made was how the silver dragees beads were placed on the tier edges. The silver dragées are almost rice shaped and I had to place them differently on the edge than planned.
The cake stand was also created and painted to complement the cake design. We feel cakes should be displayed on stands if possible, it just elevates the design in my opinion.
I was extremely happy with how the finished design came out, the colors work so well together but you can take the same design and use different colors and it would still work. That is what I love to do, create a new cake design that can work effortlessly with other color combinations and still look unique and fresh.