Why Everyone from Miuccia Prada to Cara Delevingne Is Tightening Up Their Belt Game
After landing Miuccia Prada’s approval, statement belts have turned up on the waists of trendsetters like Bella Hadid and Cara Delevingne.
Back in middle school, there was one staple I had to wear every day: my studded leather belt, purchased (along with my other necessity: black nail polish) at my local mall’s Hot Topic. And while that belt meant everything to me, I haven’t given belts many thoughts since—at least, until ultra-chic, corset-like versions appeared around the waists of models in Prada’s fall 2016 maritime collection, somehow stealing the show from accessories like patent leather sailor caps and necklaces made out of actual diaries at Milan Fashion Week.
As with most things that are Miuccia Prada-approved, belts seem to have been showing up everywhere since—and not just the practical kind that, you know, holds up your pants. A year later, everyone from Kylie Jenner to Nicole Kidman are still stepping out in oversized versions to making statements with the accessories. (For the former, with one so long it almost dragged on the floor, as an addition to an all-denim look; for the latter, as a finishing touch to her ensemble while celebrating her Academy Award nomination this year.) Even menswear designers have been picking up on the trend: Gosha Rubchinskiy, Y/Project’s Glenn Martens, Martine Rose, and once again Prada all even showed two belts at once on the runways during the men’s shows in June.
Double belts at Martine Rose, Y/Project, and Prada’s spring 2018 men shows.
And while summer’s usually the time for roomy caftans, the past few months have seen plenty of celebrities sticking with cinching their waists, too. Cara Delevingne kicked things off at the Met Gala with not just a head of silver paint and sequins, but a Chanel brocade suit whose belt she’d placed more than a few inches above her glittery trousers’s waistline. After refocusing the chainmail trend on her torso with a chainlink belt, her pal Bella Hadid went back to the source while in Paris for Miu Miu’s cruise show with a Miuccia-designed accessory around her waist. And, that same week in Paris, while on this year’s edition of her ever delightful tour at Paris Couture Week, expert front-rower Celine Dion accentuated her buttery yellow leather dress with even more leather in the form of a black strap easily slung around her waist. (Hadid, by the way, at least two more belts that week while walking the runway for Alexandre Vauthier.)
Big Belts and Cinched Waists Are Back—Just Ask Bella Hadid and Celine Dion
Celine Dion is seen on July 3, 2017 in Paris, France.
Bella Hadid attends Miu Miu Cruise Collection cocktail & party as part of Haute Couture Paris Fashion Week on July 2, 2017 in Paris, France.
Anya Taylor-Joy attends the IWC Schaffhausen Dinner in Honour of the BFI at Rosewood London on October 4, 2016 in London, England.
Model Karolina Kurkova attends the Thakoon fashion show on September 8, 2016 in New York City.
Lily Aldridge attends the God’s Love We Deliver Golden Heart Awards on October 17, 2016 in New York City.
Diane Kruger attends the screening of IFC Films’ “Disorder” hosted by The Cinema Society & Chopard, with Line 39 and Qui at Landmark’s Sunshine Cinema on August 9, 2016 in New York City.
Dakota Fanning attends the 4th Annual Save the Children Illumination Gala at The Plaza hotel on October 25, 2016 in New York City.
Zoe Saldana attends TWO x TWO For AIDS and Art 2016 on October 22, 2016 in Dallas, Texas.
LONDON, ENGLAND – DECEMBER 04: Amber Valletta attends The Fashion Awards in partnership with Swarovski nominees’ lunch hosted by the British Fashion Council with Grey Goose at Little House Mayfair on December 4, 2016 in London, England. (Photo by David M. Benett/Dave Benett/Getty Images for Soho House)
Katy Perry arrives at the Capitol Records 75th Anniversary Gala at Capitol Records Tower on November 15, 2016 in Los Angeles, California.
Alexa Chung attends the Noon By Noor fashion show during, New York Fashion Week: The Shows at Gallery 3, Skylight Clarkson Sq on February 9, 2017 in New York City.
Kylie Jenner steps out in jean on jean, fitted with a large hanging belt on February 12, 2017 in New York, New York.
Zosia Mamet attends the Metrograph Theater 1st Year Anniversary Party at The Metrograph on March 8, 2017 in New York City.
Nicole Kidman attends the 89th Annual Academy Awards Nominee Luncheon at The Beverly Hilton Hotel on February 6, 2017 in Beverly Hills, California.
Cara Delevingne attends ‘Rei Kawakubo/Comme des Garçons:Art of the In-Between’ Costume Institute Gala at Metropolitan Museum of Art on May 1, 2017 in New York City.
Lara Stone arrives at the amfAR Gala Cannes 2017 at Hotel du Cap-Eden-Roc on May 25, 2017 in Cap d’Antibes, France.
Charlotte Casiraghi attend the Women in Motion Awards Dinner at the 70th Cannes Film Festival at Place de la Castre on May 21, 2017 in Cannes, France.
Ella Purnell attends The Serpentine Galleries Summer Party at The Serpentine Gallery on June 28, 2017 in London, England.
Scarlett Johansson attends the 71st Annual Tony Awards at Radio City Music Hall on June 11, 2017 in New York City.
Priyanka Chopra attends the 2017 CFDA Fashion Awards at Hammerstein Ballroom on June 5, 2017 in New York City.
Lily James arrives ahead of the Baby Driver Australian Premiere at Event Cinemas George Street on July 12, 2017 in Sydney, Australia.
In the summer of fanny packs—a trend even Leonardo DiCaprio has caught on to—belts are definitely the safer way to make a statement. That is, as long as you don’t take Paris Hilton’s timely advice to make sure yours is the same size as your miniskirt.
Related: Why You Should Get On Board with the High-Fashion Fanny Pack Trend
Paris Hilton Breaks Down Her 13 Favorite 2000s Trends:
