Belle Mariano marked her leading lady era with her head-turning entrance at the ABS-CBN Ball 2023. Clad in an embellished ball gown, she looked every bit like a princess as she dazzled in the star-studded fête with her love team partner Donny Pangilinan.
Behind that iconic red carpet moment though is three months worth of handbeading by Michael Leyva's team, and a glam squad that worked hard to make sure every detail was in place. In this Preview exclusive video, we get to join in on the preps, from fitting to the actual ball itself. Press play to come get ready with Belle!
Behind that iconic red carpet moment though is three months worth of handbeading by Michael Leyva's team, and a glam squad that worked hard to make sure every detail was in place. In this Preview exclusive video, we get to join in on the preps, from fitting to the actual ball itself. Press play to come get ready with Belle!
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PeopleTranscript
00:00 Hello Preview, get ready with me for the ABX event.
00:04 Let's go!
00:05 This is the first time that I'm doing a rose gold type of eye shadow.
00:17 And also the first time that I'm doing dull eye kind of eyelashes.
00:22 So the overall look is very beautiful.
00:25 It's almost like Korean Thai inspired makeup.
00:31 Oh my gosh, the color of the gown matches my skin.
00:36 Everything matches my skin. It's very, very Belle.
00:39 I wanted her to choose from whatever she feels confident wearing on the runway.
00:46 I did two dresses, two gowns for Belle.
00:50 I wanted to be very considerate of the color and of the silhouette that I'd be doing.
00:57 I'm very excited to see her on the red carpet.
00:59 So for the first gown, I want her to be the typical, very princess-like, Swarovski encrusted, by hand, detailed gown.
01:08 And then the other one, it's kind of sexy, but it's also sparkly.
01:12 So the two looks, it's two different looks that's different from each other.
01:16 I wanted her to choose from whatever she feels confident wearing on the runway.
01:22 We mixed like thousands of crystals, beadworks, and Swarovskis, and rhinestones,
01:28 for us to be able to come up with that kind of detail in beading for the gown.
01:33 And it took us about three months in the making.
01:36 They gave me the freedom to do whatever I feel is perfect for Belle.
01:41 And yeah, I think that's one more important factor.
01:45 I was so shocked. I really was.
01:47 Because we were trying to go for something more dainty, more on the romantic side.
01:54 And oh my gosh, Michael really pulled it off.
01:58 It's so nice. And his signature, like you really know that it's Michael's creation.
02:04 That time, he was just showing me creations of different styles, what they want to go for and stuff.
02:12 And we finally ended up with this amazing gown.
02:16 And I'm very excited. I'm very excited for the ball.
02:19 And it's not even close to me yet.
02:23 And it's so nice to look at for some reason.
02:27 Like when I'm looking at the gown, and every time there's a right light, it's like wow.
02:32 It doesn't have a seam. It's just a black tie.
02:35 And really, we were going for something very Belle, something very romantic, something very, very dainty.
02:46 And this is it.
02:48 I think everyone has been waiting for this event to happen.
02:54 And I'm very excited for everything.
02:56 I think this is going to be a whole new different experience.
02:59 And since it's very different from the pre-pandemic, I can't wait.
03:05 What will the other artists wear? I'm sure they're going to look so stunning and beautiful.
03:11 And I just can't wait to see them, everyone gathered in one place.
03:17 First thing I did really was to ask Belle what she wanted.
03:21 And her mom also, and also Jake and RJ.
03:26 So it's really a collaboration. It's not just myself.
03:29 When we were conceptualizing, we were very decided on having her wear a ball gown.
03:39 Each woman, each actress deserves a ball gown moment.
03:44 And I think that the first time that she wore a ball gown, she was in a different place in her career, in her life.
03:51 And now, we had a dress commission that encapsulates the grandeur and the shine.
04:05 Michael Leiva, he was sketching on the spot.
04:13 And it was fun, actually. It was really fun collaborating with Belle and collaborating with Michael.
04:19 I thought that the dress, albeit fully beaded, would be an existing fabric.
04:29 But it wasn't.
04:31 I'm so grateful to Michael and his team for putting in so much effort in hand-beading her gown.
04:38 So it's really couture. It's not just a readily available beaded fabric that's available in the market.
04:48 So I think with that, it's very emotional.
04:53 The process was very, "How do you feel about this? How do you feel about this?"
04:57 Because my styling mantra is, "Put your client first."
05:03 I never want to impose what I want.
05:06 It's always what they want first.
05:08 And then I come in, I step in to refine it and edit it.
05:12 I think with me, I'm very technical in the sense that, "What do you want? What color do you want?"
05:17 "What style do you want? What fit do you want?"
05:21 But the thing is, with the ABS-CBN wall, I think we're tapping into the two sides of Belle
05:27 because she's actually changing into a more form-fitting dress.
05:31 So the first one is a ballgown. A young ballgown.
05:34 It's a ballgown fit for any red carpet globally. It can be anywhere.
05:42 The ballgown that Michael made is very couture. It's very age-appropriate.
05:47 And then she's changing into another dress. We're tapping into a sexier Belle.
05:54 She's wearing a form-fitting dress for the dinner.
06:00 I think it's matte gold with silver appliques.
06:04 The macula ball, her jewelry, all by Bulgari.
06:08 [music]
06:15 [BLANK_AUDIO]