The Vienna Opera Ball is an iconic annual event which takes place in the Vienna State Opera, Austria. Every year an appointed designer has the once in a lifetime opportunity of designing the debutante tiara.
Marie Boltenstern, our Head of Design, designed the Swarovski Tiara named “The Rising Star” for the debutantes of the Vienna Opera Ball 2016. Swarovski has been creating sparkling diadems at the Vienna Opera Ball for more than 50 years. Designers to have followed Marie Boltenstern’s path in the following years include renowned names such as Karl Lagerfeld (2017), Dolce & Gabbana (2018), and Versace (2019).
The Boltenstern family has been synonymous with the Vienna State Opera for generations. Marie’s grandfather was the architect appointed to reconstruct the Vienna State Opera - including the Opera Ball Hall - after the Second World War, which reopened in November 1955. What is more, Marie’s father, Sven Boltenstern, was one of the first 400 Debutants who reopened the first Opera Ball following the war on February 9th, 1956. Continuing the family tradition, Marie herself opened the ball as one of the debutantes on February 23rd, 2006.
Given the historical link between the Vienna Opera Ball and the Boltenstern family, Marie was absolutely ecstatic to be asked to design the sparkling debutant crown, for the night of the 60th Opera ball anniversary.
“In my work, I am very much inspired by nature, its’ structures and imperfections. BOLTENSTERN designs are very organic, comprising natural forms and shapes, and the Opera Ball tiara was one of the very first pieces I brought to life. I tend to use architectural and mathematical structures to recreate natural patterns by coding them on a 3D-interface, and each piece uniquely embodies the original BOLTENSTERN legacy. For this particular design of “The Rising Star” 2016 Swarovski Opera Ball tiara, I was inspired by the concept of a young woman finding herself for the first time, the image of a blossoming flower, an aspiring rising star, ascending above and beyond.”
The Opera Ball tiara was just the beginning of a new BOLTENSTERN era - coding designs by hand to be crafted by technology. Debutantes waltzed through an unforgettable evening on February 4th, 2016 in the Vienna Opera Hall with their tiaras dazzling from afar. For the over 5000 guests in attendance, it was truly a night to remember and a historic moment for BOLTENSTERN.
