Designing a Showgirl-Inspired Collaboration for Burger King
Sometimes the most exciting opportunities arrive completely out of nowhere. A few weeks ago, I received an email that I genuinely thought might be a prank — a creative agency working with Burger King wanted to commission me to design a showgirl-inspired presentation box for a campaign.
As a UK burlesque performer and showgirl costume designer, this project immediately felt like a perfect match. Glamour, glitter, feathers, rhinestones, playful theatrical styling — but reimagined not as stagewear, but as packaging design.
Before working full-time in performance and costume, I spent seven years as a graphic designer in high-street fashion, so this project sat beautifully between the two worlds I know best: visual storytelling and showgirl spectacle.
My first step was developing the showgirl character.
If she’s a showgirl — how much makeup does she wear?
How bold should the eyelashes be?
Is lipstick too much, or is she the kind of girl who always wears lipstick?
I also experimented with texture. Should the background be illustrated? Photographic? Printed glitter? Or actual fabric layered into the construction? I wanted her to feel animated and full of personality — a character with presence, not just decoration.
To their credit, Burger King were a dream client — clear direction, fast decisions, and trust in the creative process. That part was easy.
The gemstones were the simple part — I work with crystals and rhinestones daily while creating custom burlesque and cabaret costumes in my UK studio.
But the painterly feathered wings were another story. Designing them was fast. Getting them to adhere to glitter fabric was… not.
I tested print methods, adhesive types, vinyl finishes, and card textures. Eventually, I discovered the solution: spray adhesive applied with a paintbrush for controlled bonding. Strange, but effective — and exactly the kind of problem-solving that costume-making trains you for.
This stage felt familiar: trial, error, persistence, and a bit of theatre magic.
Tight Turnarounds & Glitter Everywhere
The timeline was intense. Materials had to be ordered quickly, tested fast, and refined even faster. There were moments where parts of the project were held together by skill, experience, and a little blind faith.
10 days, 7 rounds of glitter fabric samples, countless rhinestones, and 10 finished boxes later — she arrived.
A showgirl, but reimagined. Not for a stage this time — but for a brand moment.
Why This Project Means So Much
This collaboration allowed me to bring together everything I love:
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Burlesque performance
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Theatrical costume design
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Creative direction
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Handcrafted detail
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Playful glamour
It was a reminder that showgirl culture has space everywhere — even in places you wouldn’t expect.
And that sometimes, opportunities arrive when you’re already busy being exactly who you are.