When asked to describe Mariah Carey’s new residency, Mariah Carey: The Celebration of Mimi Live in Las Vegas, with a singular theme, stylist Wilfredo Rosado chooses “craftsmanship” (while adding that he might also consider the word “glitter”). “Glitter is the obvious kind of look of the wardrobe, but to me, this show is highly crafted in terms of the dresses,” he notes.
There’s certainly no denying that a high level of craftsmanship went into the show’s wardrobe. Among the outfits that Carey wears, there’s a strapless Gaurav Gupta gown that features rivulets of sparkles showering down the songstress’s body. There’s a stunning gold Sophie Couture dress that gets paired with a custom, butterfly-themed Jackie Cicogna Millinery mask, which wouldn’t look out of place in A Cinderella Story.
Dedicated fans will certainly notice nods to Carey’s career, like the previously-mentioned Sophie Couture dress, which feels like an updated version of the The Emancipation of Mimi album cover design, or a fluffy white skirt on a Falguni Shane Peacock gown, which clearly nods to Carey’s chart domination every time the Christmas season rolls around.
According to Rosado, these pieces are meant to celebrate Carey’s entire career, while highlighting the ways in which she (and her style) have transformed as well. “I mean, this show is kind of like a journey, a musical journey of MC’s career,” Rosado says.
One ensemble—a rhinestone-covered black mini dress from Laura Basci—looks like a shimmering re-imagination of the bodycon jersey piece Carey wears in her “Vision of Love” music video. Rosado says this was no accident. “We hinted at it, we didn't sort of exactly recreate it,” he says. “But we did—we recreated it in a very dazzling, beautiful way.”
He recalls that Carey took notice of the nod to her first-ever single, but she appreciated that it represented the evolution of her career. “That’s what I did for the entire show,” Rosado says. “You know, bringing the level of craftsmanship and design to her success today with hints of the past.”
If there’s one person who feels like the perfect choice to style Carey’s residence, it’s Rosado, who has previously outfitted the melismatic singer for her Christmas specials Mariah Carey’s Merriest Christmas (2015) and Mariah Carey: Merry Christmas to All! (2022). Not to mention, he also designed the 35-carat engagement ring she received when she was engaged to Australian businessman James Packer.
Clearly, the stylist and celebrity jeweler is trusted by Carey, and he reveals that they’ve been very honest with each other throughout the making of the residency. “I usually work closely with her, so I always send her sketches and proposals and she always tells me what she likes and doesn’t like,” he says. “She’s also very open—like she’s open to trying new things and she’s open to new designers.”
It can certainly be intimidating dressing a global superstar for an 8-night show, but Rosado just wants to get it right. “I always challenge myself to take her to a next kind of level in terms of fashion and stuff,” he says. “The biggest challenge is telling a story with the clothes.”
But now that the moment is here, Rosado can finally relax and feel confident that he’s captured her career in a dazzling spectacle, which is sure to wow her legions of dedicated fans. Almost giddily, the stylist closes our conversation by telling me: “It’s gonna be so fabulous.”
