IT’S chocolate, but not as we know it.

A chocolatier has combined cooking with craft to create a real showstopper for National Chocolate Week.

Caitlin Paxton, of Paxton Chocolate, in Marine Terrace Mews in Kemp Town, Brighton, designed and made the flower-inspired dress for the Chocolate Show to be held at Kensington Olympia later this week.

The design consists of a sculpted bodice, decorated with a combination of large and small discs of chocolate with digitally printed flowers in red, orange and pink.

It has been finished off with gold leaf.

It has been designed to be worn on the catwalk – but not for too long as it is likely to start melting.

Ms Paxton used 800 of Paxton Chocolate’s delicate signature hand-made thin discs to decorate the figure-hugging, one-shoulder dress, which has a material underlay that was painted with chocolate.

While it may seem an unusual move for a chocolatier to channel their talent into fashion, it is not the first time Paxton Chocolate has taken part.

Ms Paxton said: “Last year we created a flapper-style dress for the fashion show, but this year we wanted to go for something that was really eye-catching and on trend.

“For this dress, each of our thins will be hand-made and adorned with vibrant pictures of different flowers such as roses, daisies and nigella damascena.

“The overall effect is really striking.”

The dress took three weeks to create, with each thin made individually and stuck on using a heated spoon technique Ms Paxton picked up while training as a pastry chef at Le Cordon Bleu.

Ms Paxton created Paxton Chocolate after graduating from the cooking school in 2012.

She originally opened a shop in Shoreditch, London, but moved to Brighton in March because owning a business in the capital became too expensive.

It now runs as an online shop and at a number of pop-ups across Brighton and Hove.

Chocolate lovers are drawn to her creations, which are intricately designed.

The chocolate is from a company in Belgium that has been producing it for more than 100 years.

Ms Paxton said even Paxton Chocolate’s packaging was custom-made as she wanted to “create something special and lasting” for customers.

She said: “It is a labour of love.

“It is amazing to be able to design and produce something like this as it draws on my two passions – chocolate and fashion.”

The Chocolate Fashion Show takes place during the Chocolate Show, which runs from this Friday to Sunday at London’s Olympia.

The dresses will be on display at the Chocolate Show until Sunday.