This week, audiences were treated to their first sneak peek of some of the iconic characters, sets, and costumes that are featured in Disney's upcoming live-action remake of animated classic "Beauty and the Beast," including The Dress -- a.k.a. the gorgeous yellow confection that Belle (Emma Watson) wears while dancing with the Beast (Dan Stevens) during one of the film's most memorable sequences. According to Watson, the importance of that garment and what it represents was not lost on her, and she and the film's costumer wanted to do both the dress and the story it tells justice while making the movie.

In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Watson explained the collaboration that went into crafting the frock, which was custom made by designer Jacqueline Durran ("Pride & Prejudice," "Atonement," "Anna Karenina"). The actress praised Durran's "wonderful" and "amazing" work on the dress, noting that the goal was to make the garment "utterly whimsical, and magical."

But there's much more to the dress than what meets the eye, Watson told EW:

"The scene that I wear that dress in, and I have that dance in, it really tells the story of Beast and Belle falling in love. You know, we don't have a huge amount of time in the story to tell that story. The dance, for me, is really where the audience starts to see it happening and starts knowing that it is happening. This is total, blissful escapism. You are transported to another world. The dress, and the dancing, and the candlelight, and the music — it was really fun to work on every aspect of that."

Audiences will be able to see Durran's work for themselves when "Beauty and the Beast" opens on March 17, 2017. For the designer's detailed breakdown of the construction of the dress, check out the full story over at Entertainment Weekly.

Photo credit: Laurie Sparham/Disney, via Entertainment Weekly