ToddleWood: Kids model mini red carpet fashions

So far this awards season, Beasts of the Southern Wild star  Quvenzhané Wallis  has been the most adorable star to walk the red carpet, but now thanks to the pint-sized stars of New York-based project ToddleWood, she’s got some cute competition.

Founded by former advertising executive-turned-photographer, Tricia Messeroux, the ToddleWood project imagines everyday kids as A-list celebrities, historic figures and other icons. The idea was born in 2008, when Messeroux decided to shoot her then-three year old daughter, Skylar. “I’ve been told that she looks like Diana Ross so I said, ‘You know what? I guess I’m going to play along and photograph her looking like Diana Ross.’ We did that and I realized I had something on my hands,” Messeroux told EW. “I called a few women that I knew were very talented in different areas: wardrobe stylists, dress designers, makeup, hair–these women that were talented in all these different areas that I needed– and I held a casting call.”

Since the first shoot, Messeroux has received submissions from hundreds of pint-sized hopefuls. “My process now to think about what the look that I want to  achieve is, so it needs to be an iconic celebrity or a political figure or someone notable, or a moment in time,” she explained. ”Like when Tom Cruise jumped on Oprah’s couch, or when the Obama’s did the fist bump. It has to be either a really fantastic look or moment in time.”

Click through the gallery to see more pictures from Messeroux’s Golden Globes ToddleWood shoot and find out how she and her team executed the mini-me fashion moments.

Prep Time

From casting, to recreating the clothes, to the actual photo shoot, Messeroux and her  ToddleWood team turned around the Golden Globes project in just two days. “I had a casting call on Saturday—literally 24 hours before the Globes. I didn’t know who or what was going to end up on the red carpet wearing what,” she said. “On Sunday, my team and I watched the Golden Globes and studied the red carpet to look for the right dresses.”

Not every frock made the cut. “The right dress is something I happen to like and I think my designer can [recreate]. It also needs to be something that is kid appropriate,” Messeroux explains. “There were several designs where the plunging neckline was way too low, and then there were the sheer and paste-on looks like Jennifer Lopez’s dress. Although it was very beautiful, I will not be the one to put a kid in that dress.”

Courtsey: Phangtasia