The Full Story Behind American Horror Story's "Balenciaga!" Moment

Updated on Oct 23, 2014 at 5:03 PM

American Horror Story has had no shortage of fashion moments during the course of its time on television, but the series really hit its stride in season three — better known as Coven — so much so that the show's costume designer, Lou Eyrich, won the 2014 Emmy for best costumes.

Perhaps one of the most memorable scenes of the season was when the ever-eccentric Myrtle Snow was burned at the stake — for a second time. As you might recall, she wore a red dress and let out a final shout: "Balenciaga!" After the episode aired, many lamented the fact that her dress wasn't actually a Balenciaga design at all. But fear not, fashion fans — to promote the DVD and Blu-ray release of American Horror Story: Coven, Eyrich joined us for an interview, and we asked her to set the record straight. Keep scrolling to see her surprising revelation.

"That was a big deal, because in the script she comes out in a red dress and says 'Balenciaga!' so we all thought it had to [actually] be Balenciaga. We started researching, and we realized we couldn't afford a Balenciaga dress, because we have a small budget. So Ryan said, 'It's not literal; she's just saying it as a crazy Myrtle thing, a Myrtle-ism.' Then we were able to grind it out, and we actually searched town. But everything wasn't eccentric enough for Myrtle. Then we went online and actually my shopper, Bob, found it online and it was the perfect thing, and it's a Carolina Herrera. There was a lot of the stuff in the press saying, 'That's not a Balenciaga dress.' But it was never meant to be."

What do you think about the moment? Let us know in the comments below!