It's one of Bella Hadid's most memorable street-style outfits: Two summers ago, while strolling around Tribeca, the supermodel wore two belts simultaneously. One silver-buckled black belt was secured in the pant loops of her gray-washed jeans, while the other contrasting gold belt (which served no practical purposes) was cinched loosely below. It was then that the double-belt trend was born.
Since the model's two-belt moment in June 2022, which she recreated later that fall, fashion folks have widely regarded the styling as a unique Hadid aesthetic—and one that follows her penchant for unrealistic fashion trends. Before celebrities left their houses without pants and wore UGG boots in earnest, Hadid was styling white micro-briefs with shearling-lined slippers to grab a New York slice.
Like the others, the creative, quirky micro-trend of wearing two belts (just because) has blossomed into a styling trick for real people, not just mega-watt street-style stars. Fashion over function, yes, but frivolous maximal accessories are in.
Then, like a siren call, Fall 2024 Fashion Month, became a season filled with two-belt stylings that all fell within the realm of real-world possibilities. At New York Fashion Week, Michael Kors sent out maxi skirts and trousers with two belts even built into the waist. In Peter Do's second collection as creative director for Helmut Lang, the Vietnamese designer slung a crisscrossing double belt low on the waist of a workwear jumpsuit— a piece that, by design, needs no belt at all.
Across the Atlantic in London, JW Anderson's Fall 2024 included turtleneck tops encircled by wide khaki-colored belts. In Paris, Junya Watanabe showcased an admittedly more avant-garde interpretation: The Japanese designer ensnared his models' waists with multiple black leather belts styled alongside black turtlenecks and front-pleat trousers. Upon closer inspection, the look isn't as farfetched as it first seemed.
It's gathering speed off the runways, too; Layered waist chains and stacks of leather belts cinched over hips have become common sights in spring 2024 street style. And when you factor in the other celebrity co-signers—earlier this year, Camila Mendes and Lucy Hale wore The Frankie Shop's pleated skirts with two built-in belts—it's indisputable: It's only a matter of time before the double-belt trend hits the mainstream as a 2024 trend.
What was once considered a Hadid-only styling hack has now, against all odds, become a styling tip with burgeoning mass appeal. Ahead, a round-up of multi-belt outfits that are likely a step or two outside your comfort zone but offer inspiration just the same. But if you are inclined to double the fun of your accessories, you'll also discover a Marie Claire-approved edit of belts and built-in-belted pieces to shop.
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Double-Belt Outfits to Shop Now
Emma Childs is the fashion features editor at Marie Claire, who writes trend reports, long-form reported features, and shopping guides. Previously, she was Marie Claire's style editor, and wrote for The Zoe Report, Editorialist, Elite Daily, Bustle, and Mission Magazine. She studied Fashion Studies and New Media at Fordham University Lincoln Center. When she's not writing fashion deep-dives, you'll find her stalking eBay for designer vintage, reading literary fiction on her Kindle, and baking in her tiny NYC kitchen.
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