First privately commissioned by Giorgio Beverly Hills in 2000 to create ball gowns specifically for Hollywood’s awards season, Belford subsequently had four looks show up on the red carpet that year worn by industry attendees. Since then, Belford has dressed everyone from Mulholland Drive actress Michele Hicks to So You Think You Can Dance? judge Mary Murphy, and has done costuming for CBS and FOX as well as working with jewelers Fred Leighton and Harry Winston. We asked him to create five sketches based on his top five muses—among them Angelina Jolie, Sarah Jessica Parker, and Charlize Theron—and to tell us a little bit about each design. Click through the gallery below to see the gorgeous designs and what (and who) inspired him to create them.
Mark Belford: An Artist and his Muse
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Tinsley Mortimer
"My entrance into the extraordinary world of haute couture afforded me the ability to work with the finest fabrics and time-honored techniques," the designer said. "Things like hand work, beading, sculpted lines, corseted structured drapings, and elaborate fine finishings." This all-black creation is entirely made of silk, and he envisioned it for high society staple and The Fashion Show judge Tinsley Mortimer.
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Angelina Jolie
"My creative process begins at my drafting board surrounded by soft light," he said. "Directly across from my sight line is my terrace planted with lilac trees and a spectrum of vivid color. I have music, watercolor paints, paper, and a pencil sharpener that was a gift from my mom in grade school." This bodice he visualized for the über-glamorous Angelina Jolie is encrusted with Swarovski crystals, complemented by a full taffeta skirt.
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HSH Princess of Monaco
"I envision the Mark Belford woman to be confident, celebrated, feminine, sensual, and extraordinary!" he said. In other words, everything a princess should be. This look is a hand-sculpted taffeta gown.
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Sarah Jessica Parker
"I love that I am creating for people who are experiencing their most exceptional moments," he said. "And I love the intimacy of the process." This look was inspired by the street-chic Sarah Jessica Parker as an example of "day couture," created so normal people like us can imagine what it would be like to wear a couture piece.
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Charlize Theron
This incredible look is a gown entirely covered in 15,000 gold Swarovski bugle beads. "I was inspired by three generations of incredible women: my mother, my grandmother and my great grandmother, all of whom had their own unique sense of style and a shared passion for couture," he said. "My childhood was spent with a pencil and paper in my hands. It was instinctive, and to this moment I cannot remember a time when these instruments where not a part of my day."
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Tinsley Mortimer
"My entrance into the extraordinary world of haute couture afforded me the ability to work with the finest fabrics and time-honored techniques," the designer said. "Things like hand work, beading, sculpted lines, corseted structured drapings, and elaborate fine finishings." This all-black creation is entirely made of silk, and he envisioned it for high society staple and The Fashion Show judge Tinsley Mortimer.
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Angelina Jolie
"My creative process begins at my drafting board surrounded by soft light," he said. "Directly across from my sight line is my terrace planted with lilac trees and a spectrum of vivid color. I have music, watercolor paints, paper, and a pencil sharpener that was a gift from my mom in grade school." This bodice he visualized for the über-glamorous Angelina Jolie is encrusted with Swarovski crystals, complemented by a full taffeta skirt.
-
HSH Princess of Monaco
"I envision the Mark Belford woman to be confident, celebrated, feminine, sensual, and extraordinary!" he said. In other words, everything a princess should be. This look is a hand-sculpted taffeta gown.
-
Sarah Jessica Parker
"I love that I am creating for people who are experiencing their most exceptional moments," he said. "And I love the intimacy of the process." This look was inspired by the street-chic Sarah Jessica Parker as an example of "day couture," created so normal people like us can imagine what it would be like to wear a couture piece.
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Charlize Theron
This incredible look is a gown entirely covered in 15,000 gold Swarovski bugle beads. "I was inspired by three generations of incredible women: my mother, my grandmother and my great grandmother, all of whom had their own unique sense of style and a shared passion for couture," he said. "My childhood was spent with a pencil and paper in my hands. It was instinctive, and to this moment I cannot remember a time when these instruments where not a part of my day."
