Teen Stuns Internet by Transforming Into Cinderella Dress at Prom

A senior prom attendee stunned the internet after a video of her "magical" entrance wearing a transforming Cinderella dress went viral last week.

In the video shared on TikTok last Friday by @satellite4moon, the teen is seen entering the dancefloor alongside her proud date. She is wearing what looks like a casual brown dress at first sight. It then suddenly transforms into a sophisticated blue gown that takes everyone's breath away. Meanwhile, her date stands by her side with the biggest smile.

The prom attendee, Pamela Marshall, told Newsweek that she made the entire dress by herself because she didn't want to wear something everyone else was wearing.

"I had to tell my date what my idea was just in case so she could help me out if my dress were to malfunction but her reaction was still surprised when she saw it transform," Marshall said. "I guess it was kind of like her seeing it for the first time because I've never shown her the dress in person. She definitely made the video by being super supportive of me.

"I was not crowned prom queen but we did have another special thing that happened," she said. "The original girl who had been voted prom queen declined the title and gave it to my friend Melody and I thought that was one of the most amazing things ever.

"The reason I decided to make my dress is because I saw how girls would wear the same dress from the same places all the time and I wanted to stand out. I looked online for eye-catching dresses and the ones I would find costed 900 dollars or even more.

"I was not going to pay that much for a one-time wear. So I had the great idea to make my own dress, something that represented me and something I would want to wear. The whole thing probably cost me 200 hundred dollars to make with the brown dress fabric included."

The global prom dress market was valued at $405 million in 2021, according to MarketWatch. It's estimated to reach $495 million in 2030.

Over three-quarters (77 percent) of high-school students said in 2022 that their school was hosting a prom in 2023, according to market research company YPulse. About 30 percent of the students were going to attend the event.

Almost a quarter (24 percent) of students purchase their prom dresses via online stores, while 16 percent buy from prom-specific retailers; 12 percent go to department stores; and 11 percent use rental stores. Only about 10 percent of all prom-goers make their own attire by hand and around 5 percent wear hand-me-downs.

Marshall said that her Cinderella look was actually "kind of inspired by The Hunger Games" and Katniss' dress transformations in the movie.

"I love how they would dress up in these amazing costumes and I saw Effie's monarch butterfly dress. If I had the skill to make that I definitely would've but I had to simplify the dress a little bit," Marshall said.

"My dress was originally gonna be baby pink, then it changed to being a black dress that would transform into a red one like the 'girl on fire' dress" from The Hunger Games, she said. "But when I was in the fabric store the white butterfly fabric caught my eye and so did the blue satin that was next to it. It had to be a sign for me to make it. Then next, Cinderella was a big inspiration."

The 16-second clip quickly gained popularity on the platform, and it has received almost 6 million views and 1.1 million likes from TikTok users.

One user, Isabel "Bee" Malia, commented: "Now THATS an entrance." And Hannah wrote: "Her date was SO proud." Michael posted: "How many times did you watch this?' yes." And ANNA added: "THIS IS EVERYTHINGGGG."

Jessica Cook wrote: "Goosebumps!!!!!!!!! That is the most magical thing ever!! You both look STUNNING!!!" And The J Family posted: "This has me smiling so big at my phone. what an icon. 100/10." Tessa added: "You're literally so iconic and talented now you're going to take the world by STORM!! killed it!!!"

Another user, Connor, commented: "How was it able to twist away like that? So cool." And Michael said: "she IS THE MOMENT OMGGG." Lila wrote: "This is HER cinderella story." And Nicole Petrie added: "Killed it!! You both look SO good!"

Humanexperience98 wrote: "No cause this just made me cry so freaking beautiful!!! Go baby!"

Update 5/2/23, 9:17 a.m. ET: This story has been updated with comment from Pamela Marshall and new pictures of her dress.

Do you have funny and adorable videos or pictures you want to share? Send them to life@newsweek.com with some extra details, and they could be featured on Newsweek.