All that glitter is gold for Belle Mariano, who attended last night’s Opulence Ball in a dazzling custom AJ Javier number
The 70s was all about the woman wearing the clothes—not the other way around. At last night’s Opulence Ball, Belle Mariano proved this adage accurate by showing how true disco style is done. In custom AJ Javier, she graced the carpet as a glitter-slathered disco diva in gold. This look is owed to her stylist, Adrianne Concepcion, who talks to MEGA about the star’s ensemble.
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“It was a collaboration with myself and AJ Javier. The look was a nod to the opulence, the high-watt glamor, and the decadence of the 70s. It was the era of fashion extravagance—Diana Ross, Cher, Tina Turner. This look was an homage to the divas of disco,” Concepcion tells MEGA.
And indeed, it was. For last night’s celebration, Belle unabashedly embraced glitter, gold, and sequins in a bejeweled stomach-baring halter dress with a high slit and a ruffled stole.
Concepcion continues to say that she looked to the epicenter of disco and glamor in the heart of the 1970s for Belle’s look: Studio 54. The hottest spot in New York had celebrities, socialites, and trendsetters flock to the dance floor, and so Studio 54 was the ultimate fashion playground. The heavily esteemed venue was synonymous with ‘70s disco culture, where sequins, glitter, and other bold fabrics were essential for entry; it was only apt that Belle Mariano embody what one would wear to the nightclub.
“Our idea really was: if Belle were to attend a big event at Studio 54, what would the look be?” Concepcion explains. “It was a reimagination of the unapologetic drama and grandeur of the decade. More was more during this era—hence the shine, the volume, and the glamor. It was Belle’s Bianca Jagger-on a horse-entrance-moment.”
Bianca Jagger’s history-making entrance on a white horse, clad in a Halston dress and diamond tiara, was the picture of the anything-goes spirit of Studio 54. Belle’s look modeled that entrance—she knows how to emanate her own shine under the spotlight, and all the glittering gold added to the dazzle.
“Gold was the first thing we were certain about; we built the look on this color,” the stylist reveals. “Then we had several disco references and elements that we pieced together: the silhouette, the rhinestone band, the crystal tassels, the ruffled tulle stole. Belle ultimately had a say with the decision making. We wanted her to look grand, sexy, and fabulous, but she had to be comfortable, so we went to the drawing board and worked on design studies, and we ended up with this.”
Photos and Featured Image: BELLE MARIANO (via Instagram)
