By Louise Irvine

As the dowager Queen of Hearts of our WMODA Wonderland, I had the pleasure of joining Chelsea Rousso and other Florida artists at Laura Donefer’s glass fashion show, the highlight of the 2026 Glass Art Society Conference in Corning, NY. Chelsea was appointed the new Queen Regnant and created an abundance of glass accessories for her regal attire and for her whimsical Wonderland companions, Ellen Fischer as the White Rabbit, and Jordan Fitzgerald as the Mad Hatter. Our WMODA Wonderland motto, “We’re all mad here,” took on a new meaning at GAS 2026!

We are huge fans of wearable glass art at WMODA, having collaborated on two of Chelsea’s Believe the Impossible fashion shows inspired by Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland in 2022. That same year, for my TEAquila, Teapots and Tarts unbirthday party, Chelsea made me a fabulous Queen of Hearts gown with a glass bodice for the first mad battle of the queens. We also presented the Mannequin Project at WMODA, which included several shattered souls crafted from recycled glass and mirrors by local artists. Florida glass artist, Rob Stern, contributed his glittering top hat and tails depicting one of Pino Signoretto’s glass clowns, a tribute to the late Murano glass maestro.

Rob first wore his dazzling mirrored suit for the memorable Murano glass fashion show in 2018. Under the direction of Laura Donefer, selected glass artists glided along the canals of the Venetian lagoon, enchanting locals and tourists alike as they celebrated Murano as the center of glassmaking since 1291. As many glass costumes weigh 50 pounds or more, Laura spent many anxious hours worrying that the artists would topple into the canal. Fortunately, her Murano friends secured traditional Catalina boats and balanced the models and their costumes to ensure stability. Thankfully, nobody fell in!

This year in Corning, Rob’s costume was even more ambitious and honored Laura Donefer, the queen of the glass fashion shows. For her 17th show in Corning, Laura decreed that the 2026 costumes had to be the most extravagant ever, at least 80% glass, including headdresses and footwear. Rob’s hat was over the top as he sculpted seven glassblowers at work around a historical furnace in the Czech Republic, where he trained. His wife, Melisa, hand-sewed over 1,000 pieces of cullet on his tailcoat, which also features a magnetic mosaic portrait panel depicting Laura at the 2016 GAS fashion show. Rob plans to present this portrait to Laura in acknowledgment of all the amazing work she does to create the glassy magic of the high-energy runway events.

Laura’s first fashion show was held in Canada in 1988 with a group of close friends parading in glass costumes. The shows have since become major spectacles at the international GAS conferences, and this year, 80 artists from 15 countries strutted their stuff before roaring crowds. Over the years, the one-of-a-kind glass costumes have ranged from outrageous and raunchy, funky and fabulous, to bizarre and beautiful. In addition to Rob and Chelsea’s extravaganzas, my favorites this year included a sinister Venetian plague doctor with a glass beak mask, an endangered pangolin with glass scales and claws, and an incredible Chinese dragon that danced onstage with three supporters.

Emmy award-winning filmmaker David Marshall from Blue Sky Films is making a documentary to celebrate Laura’s incredible achievements, as her glass fashion shows have become a cultural phenomenon. In addition to the runway performances, Marshall will capture the wild backstage chaos and the laborious processes behind some of the unique costumes. The artists spend many months, even years, creating their unique glass outfits. (Contribute to Laura’s documentary via GoFundMe.)

South Florida was also represented at the GAS show this year by Grace Chepenik, the Hot Shop Manager at the Benzaiten Creative Arts Studio, who made her debut as a beautiful sea nymph wearing glass starfish, pearls, and seashells. Grace is currently exhibiting her larger-than-life glass shark-tooth sculptures at WMODA, and she will reprise her GAS costume at the closing party for the Splash exhibition on September 26.

Chelsea Rousso needs no introduction to readers of our Through the Looking Glass newsletter, as she has collaborated on many memorable museum projects during the last ten years. Her Believe the Impossible fashion shows, featuring Wearable Glass from Wonderland, are legendary at WMODA and continue to be enjoyed in the documentary screening in our Studio Collection. Examples of her wearable “glasskinis” and corsets are always on display, and we have often highlighted her special commissions, including the bikini for Rhanu, our resident mermaid for several years.

Chelsea has been participating in Laura Donefer’s fashion shows since the 2009 Corning conference, and each time she raises the bar. The 2026 event was the first time she modeled her own creation, a new requirement of the show, and she added more gorgeous glass to her Queen of Hearts costume, originally designed for the WMODA Believe the Impossible fashion show. Chelsea’s new scepter and crown jewels were studded with glass gemstones in myriad colors, and her gown was adorned with Wonderland icons, including giant glass playing cards. As she strutted imperiously on stage, the audience was lucky not to lose their heads.

Fortunately, the White Rabbit, aka Ellen Fischer, wasn’t late, thanks to all the glass watches hanging around her fluffy tail. Ellen, a great WMODA supporter and one of Chelsea’s mentees, has been exploring new fused-glass jewelry techniques and has made a variety of accessories for the White Rabbit costume. Jordan Fitzgerald played the Mad Hatter at Corning and added his beautiful beads and hatpins to his crazy costume. He wowed the audience with his wacky antics, shaking his booty and showing off his Cheshire Cat grin made of glass, of course. We are looking forward to featuring Chelsea’s latest Wonderland costumes at WMODA as part of our next special exhibition, celebrating enchanted gardens, which opens on October 31.

Learn about the history of Laura Donefer’s thrilling fashion shows and watch the Murano Glass Fashion Show in Talking Out Your Glass, presented by Shawn Waggoner.

Laura Donefer’s Glass Fashion Show

Watch the South Florida Artists in the GAS 2026 Fashion Show

This video clip by Louise Irvine features South Florida glass artists, whose work is showcased at the Wiener Museum of Decorative Arts in Hollywood, FL.

Watch Chelsea Rousso’s Believe the Impossible Fashion Show at WMODA

Read more about wearable glass at WMODA
Believe the Impossible
Glamorous Glass
Wearable Glass
Through the Looking Glass