A fashion designer who made hundreds of ensembles for Whitney Houston has lifted a lid on what it was really like working with the late singer.
Marc Bouwer, 66, who grew up in South Africa, crossed paths with Houston while he was working for the designer Halston.
Her stylist had come to his showroom looking for a dress for Houston to wear in an ad she was going to star in.
But when she showed Houston the collection, the singer was so blown away she not only wanted to buy the entire thing, but she wanted Bouwer to come work for her directly.
'[Houston's] stylist looking for a dress for an ad and came up to my showroom, and she was like, "Can we show this collection to Whitney?"' he recalled during an exclusive chat with the Daily Mail.
'We sent it over and the collection never came back. I was like, "We need this collection back in the showroom," but she was like, "Whitney wants everything."
'As an up and coming struggling designer someone coming to buy a whole collection [was unheard of].'
It couldn't come at a more perfect time as Bouwer explained that he was already thinking about leaving Halston to 'be on his own,' and Houston made it possible.
Bouwer created looks for Houston's 'world tours, red carpet appearances and music videos.'
'Whitney's people said, "We'll support you. Whitney needs a lot of things,"' he continued.
Bouwer ultimately left Halston and set up his own studio in his apartment, where he started making gowns for Houston.
'My apartment became my design studio; I cut everything on the floor and sewed everything myself,' he said.
Bouwer went on to create looks for Houston's 'world tours, red carpet appearances and music videos.'
'It enabled myself and my partner Paul to build a real business having that kind of income,' shared Bouwer.
He even created her stunning wedding dress when she married Bobby Brown in 1992.
'They made me wait outside her bedroom door for her. I waited and waited and they opened the door and said, "Whitney's ready for you." She was standing there and she had her arms wrapped around her body,' he recalled of her wedding day.
'She had the head piece on already but nothing else besides that, just her underwear. She said, "I’m ready," and lifted her hands up to the sky, almost like a ritual.'
Reflecting on his years with Houston, Bouwer admitted that while he 'loved dressing her,' it was not 'always easy.'
'She had this very serene [energy], she was in almost a trance-like state, it was really beautiful.'
'She said: "Marc I want you by my side until I take this dress off."'
Reflecting on his years with Houston, Bouwer admitted that while he 'loved dressing her,' it was not 'always easy.'
'I really loved Whitney; she was an incredible person so loving and sweet at times but there was also times when she was really tough,' he admitted.
'I loved dressing her but it was not always easy. Sometimes it was really fun and really great; other times it was really tough.'
Bouwer went on to create looks for Hollywood's most elite including Beyoncé, Angelina Jolie, Shania Twain, Oprah Winfrey, Sarah Jessica Parker and Heidi Klum, to name a few.
He's created some of the most iconic red carpet looks of all time - like Jolie's famous 2004 Oscars dress, which was re-worn by Sydney Sweeney last year.