Carrie Underwood Wears a Dress by a Filipino Designer on "American Idol"

As a judge on American Idol Season 24, former winner Carrie Underwood has settled into a new role that calls for presence even behind a table—something her wardrobe should also reflect. The singer brought that to her look on the recent “Songs of Faith” episode, choosing a floral gown with roots in the Philippines, crafted by designer Job Dacon.

Seated alongside fellow judges Luke Bryan and Lionel Richie, Carrie wore a piece built on illusion tulle and covered in more than 10,000 hand-sewn silk petals. The appliqués are concentrated at the bodice, then disperse toward the hem, giving the skirt a lighter, more transparent finish.

The design traces back to Manila, where Job found inspiration in a cluster of pink allamandas along a riverbank by a post office. He describes the approach as intuitive. “It was more a burst of whimsy and serendipity rather than a systematic process,” he told Preview. “We imagined the dress to literally look like it’s stuck in an endless loop of petals falling from the body, then trickling down to the hem.”

The construction required careful placement to keep the volume of petals from overwhelming the shape. “I think the biggest challenge for us is how we could add all this texture but still keep the delicate shape of the silhouette. The petals are lovingly hand-sewn in the right places at the right angles,” he says, adding, “it’s kind of hard to explain, but the only thing I remember comedically instructing my team when making this piece is ‘Gawin natin na parang nabagsakan si mam ng bouquet.’”

The piece reached Los Angeles through The Archives and Showroom, where it was pulled by her stylists, Courtney Webster and Marina Toybina, for the taping. For Job, witnessing it worn on American Idol carried weight. “Seeing such a personality wear our piece literally half the planet apart really wells us up with pride and the drive to push further and better. Who knew that a career [I] founded by accident would come this far?”