Fashion Takes Center Stage:

Haute Couture for the Ballet since 1909

New York Public Library for the Performing Arts
Sara Ludueña
New York Public Library for the Performing Arts
Donald and Mary Oenslager Gallery

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 Form
Follows
Fashion

Form
Follows
Function

Les
Ballets
Russes
 “Any designer or person who works around the body, I would find it abnormal if they’re not
interested in dance, because that’s the body in movement. The interest in it is so intrinsic and
pivotal, that I can’t separate the two, because what you wear could accentuate or restrict or
enhance or expand movement.”

-Hussein Chalayan, fashion designer, 2017

Fashion Takes Center Stage:
Haute Couture for the Ballet Since 1909
The worlds of dance and high fashion have
long influenced one another, but it was in
1909, with the founding of the Ballets
Russes in Europe, that the realm of classical
ballet opened to a broader range of artistic
influences and fashion designers brought
their skills directly to the ballet stage in the
form of fanciful and daring haute couture.
Dance is a natural forum for artistic
collaboration, given the various media
involved: music, set design, and costume.
The Ballets Russes paved the way for artists
working in different fields to come
together—from costumes designed by
Henri Matisse for Le Chant du Rossignol in
1920 to sets created by Andy Warhol or
Jasper Johns for the Merce Cunningham
Dance Company in the 1960s, to music
composed by Sufjan Stevens and adapted
for a large scale ballet through close
collaboration with current New York City
Ballet Resident Choreographer Justin Peck.
What is unique about the interplay between
fashion and costume design is that both
disciplines work upon the human body in
motion, providing a natural confluence for
partnership and expression. The
collaborations between choreographers and
fashion designers have resulted in
numerous interesting and unique costumes,
from the subdued to the jarring. This
exhibition explores the history of haute
couturiers turning their talents to the stage
to design costumes, and how each
designer’s vision adapts to this new setting.
[228 words] Carlotta Brianza (The St. Petersburg State
Museum of Theater and Music)
The Ballets Russes
Ballet originated in Italy, but was developed into a practiced art in France in the mid-1500s.
Through movement, it was believed that man could attain spiritual transcendence.
Confined to nobility at royal courts across Europe, ballet took hold in Russia as a form of
aristocratic etiquette before becoming a rigorous discipline supported and controlled by the
Imperial court.
From this system came one of the most influential companies in the history of dance: Sergei
Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes. Formed in 1909 by Russians and drawing on Russian influences,
the Ballets Russes was based in Paris, never performing in Russia. It revolutionized ballet
much as the Russian Revolution of 1917 overturned the social order. Diaghilev sought what
he called “complete unity of expression” through diverse stylistic influences and an organic
aesthetic, not the Imperial ballet’s disjointed, unnatural choreography. Costumes were
integral to this unity and several groundbreaking, significant examples are showcased here.
[150 words]
 7
The Ballets Russes 5

1 3 6

4
8&9
2

7

1. Léon Bakst
Costume for the Blue God
The Blue God, The Ballets
Russes
c.1912
Silk, velvet ribbon, rayon, metal
studs, gelatin, metallic paint
National Gallery of Australia,
NGA 1987.2239.A-B
2. Barbara Karinska
Costume for female dancer
Bugaku, New York City Ballet
1966
Silk, elastic, organza, Russia
braid, artificial jewels, gauze
Victoria & Albert Museum,
S.387-1985
Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes left an indelible
mark on classical ballet during its brief twenty
year span (1909-1929). These two costumes are
proof of its lasting legacy. They both play with
the essential, recognizable form of a traditional
tutu, the short, full skirt worn by ballerinas and
typically composed of layers of tulle. These
two costumes use color, texture and
construction technique in unexpected ways.
The c.1912 costume designed by Léon Bakst is
a beautiful example of the lavish, richly
colored, Orientalist costumes that characterize
the Ballets Russes. The 1966 costume created
by New York City Ballet costume designer
Barbara Karinska is similarly fanciful and
displays influences from the East, but it also
turns a tutu into the head of a flower with
layers of narrow, pointed petals in shades of
pink. Nearly fifty years after the founding of
the Ballets Russes, its influence on ballet
costume design is still evident.
[150 words]
 5. Sonia Delaunay
Plate 3 from Sonia Delaunay: ses peintures, ses
objets, ses tissus simultanés, ses modes
[1925]
Pochoir and relief process
3. Léon Bakst 4. Sonia Delaunay-Terk The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 68.580.1(3)
Costume Costume for ‘Cléopâtre’
Les Ballets Russes Cléopâtre, Les Ballets Russes 6. Léon Bakst
1922-1923 1918 Design for the Costume of a Slave
Silk, cotton, metallic thread, glass, Silk, sequins, mirror and La Tragédie de Salomé, Les Ballets Russes
plastic beads, wool yarn, metallic 1912
Metropolitan Museum of Art, thread braid, lamé Gouache, watercolor, and gold paint
1978.184.4a-c LACMA M.68.51.18a-b The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2015.787.15
The Ballets Russes absorbed artistic influence from many
unexpected locations. While Henri Matisse was a visual artist,
rather than a fashion designer, his work with the Ballets Russes
demonstrates the company’s interest in and inclusion of
various art forms. This cape from the ballet adaptation of the
opera Le Chant du Rossignol, represents Modernism and the
blending of art forms to create a new and visually stunning
experience.
[68 words]

7. Henri Matisse
Cape for the Emperor in Le Chant du Rossignol (The Song of the
Nightingale)
The Ballets Russes at the Théâtre National de l’Opéra de Paris
1920
Silk with metallic embroidery and metal studs
The McNay Art Museum, TXTL2001.92
Gabrielle “Coco” Chanel was asked to design
costumes for the Ballets Russes’ Le Train Bleu in 1924.
As she did throughout her career, Chanel adapted her
own sleek, modern fashion tastes to the stage,
providing simple sportswear ensembles that allowed
for a full range of motion and placed the ballet in a
contemporary, accessible context. These costumes
were a departure from the exotic fantasies so strongly
associated with the Ballets Russes. Le Train Bleu
(photograph, 1924)
[71 words]

8. Gabrielle “Coco” Chanel 9. Gabrielle “Coco” Chanel

Costume for ‘La Perlouse’ Costume for ‘Gigolo’

Le Train Bleu, The Ballets Russes Le Train Bleu, The Ballets Russes

1924 1924

Knitted wool, silk tapes, crepe Wool jersey, cotton tape, silk
tape, metal hooks and eyes
de chine
Victoria & Albert Museum,
Victoria & Albert Museum,
S.837-1980
S.836-1980
Form Follows Function
Movement is the foremost consideration of any ballet costume design. How easily will a
dancer be able to move in the costume? And what visual effect will that movement
produce? To answer these questions, fashion designers have an opportunity to step out of
their typical roles and concentrate on movement. This might mean adapting an accepted
form of dance costume, like a leotard and tutu; it might mean utilizing a technique to
imitate a certain look like a boned corset that would be difficult to dance in; or it might
simply mean the freedom to temporarily move away from the designer’s current clothing
collection and connect with the performance. Here we highlight ballet costumes designed
for ease of movement and functionality, rather than for appearance alone.

[126 words]
Form Follows Function
18
14 & 15
10 & 11

17
13

12 16
This pair of costumes, while outlandish
and startling, demonstrate a respect for
movement and functionality. Although
they appear to include fully boned
corsets, which might limit movement,
they actually achieve the look of boning
through appliqué. The designer, Leigh
Bowery, was a larger-than-life performer,
fashion designer, and club promoter,
known for his wild and sometimes
unsettling antics.
[57 words]
10 & 11. Leigh Bowery
Costumes for male female dancer
Because We Must, Michael Clark Dance Company
1987
Crewel work bodices decorated with appliqué; lycra tights decorated
with sequins
Victoria and Albert Museum, London, S.101:1 to 3-2010 and S.102:1 to
3-2010
12. Giles Deacon
Costume for female dancer
The Black Swan, English National Ballet
2011
Silk, tulle, spandex mesh
English National Ballet Collection
This costume takes the form of a leotard and
tutu, playing slightly with the typical tutu
form to create a firm bubble of tulle around
the dancer’s hips rather than a soft, layered
cloud of petals. [36 words]

13. Valentino
Costume for female dancer
Bal de Couture, New York City
Ballet
2012
Lycra/spandex, silk tulle
New York City Ballet
Video clip of Bal de Couture (running time 0:40)
Choreography by Peter Martins
Costumes by Valentino
Music by Peter Ilyich Tschaikovsky
2012
New York City Ballet
(Located on Video Monitor A, Object 19)
14 & 15. Opening Ceremony (Humberto
Leon), supervised by Marc Happel
Costumes for male and female dancer
New Blood, New York City Ballet
Lycra/spandex
2015
New York City Ballet
Video clip of New Blood (running time 1:00)
Choreography by Justin Peck
Costumes by Humberto Leon of Opening Ceremony, supervised by Marc Happel
Music by Steve Reich
Dancers Brittany Pollack, Taylor Stanley, and David Prottas
2015
New York City Ballet
(Located on Video Monitor A, Object 19)
Rodarte, an American fashion brand headed by
sisters Kate and Laura Mulleavy, designed
costumes for the New York City Ballet in 2012.
They took this chance to step away from what
the brand was showing on the runway that
year—sweet, colorful garments, many of which
borrowed from Van Gogh paintings—and
created costumes with simple forms and a bold,
black-and-white color palette.
[63 words]

Rodarte, Spring 2012

16. Rodarte Ready-to-Wear
Costume for female dancer
Two Hearts, New York City Ballet
2012
Lycra/spandex, organza, mesh
New York City Ballet
 Promotional photograph,
Women’s Wear Daily, March
17. Narciso Rodriguez 30, 2015

Costume for female dancer

Locomotor, Petronio Dance Company
2014
Lycra/spandex
Stephen Petronio Company
Iris van Herpen’s costumes for the New York
City Ballet’s Neverwhere bring innovative
construction to the ballet. Formed with
overlapping plastic strips, the costumes give
the appearance of sleek, futuristic armor. The
female dancer’s footwear, an unlikely
combination of pointe shoe and knee-high
boot, appears similarly inflexible. These
costume elements do, however, allow for a
full range of motion, acting like the
collapsible blades of a paper fan when tested Neverwhere performance,
New York City Ballet, 2013
rather than a rigid exoskeleton.
[75 words]

18. Costume for female dancer

Iris van Herpen
Neverwhere, New York City Ballet
Nylon/lycra, mesh, translucent plastic strips
2013
New York City Ballet
“When I was really young I did ballet myself and I take it as an inspiration for my own work. For me
it is a logical thing to combine the two, because they are both transforming and playing with the
body. In a way I didn’t really feel that I stopped dancing.”
-Iris van Herpen, fashion designer, 2013

“NYC Ballet Presents: Ballet/Atelier NEVERWHERE” (running time 3:13)

Video featuring New York City Ballet Costume Shop and Iris van Herpen through the
costume production process
2013
New York City Ballet
(Located on Video Monitor A, Object 19)
Video clip of Neverwhere (running time 1:09)
Choreography by Benjamin Millepied
Costumes by Iris van Herpen
Music by Nico Muhly
Dancers Lauren Lovette and Craig Hall
2013
New York City Ballet
(Located on Video Monitor A, Object 19)
19. Video Monitor A
• Video clip of Bal de Couture, Costumes by Valentino, New York
City Ballet (2012)
• Video clip of New Blood, Costumes by Opening Ceremony, New
York City Ballet (2015)
• “NYC Ballet Presents: Ballet/Atelier NEVERWHERE”, New
York City Ballet (2013)
• Video clip of Neverwhere, Costumes by Iris van Herpen, New
York City Ballet (2013)
Form Follows Fashion
In creating dance costumes, some fashion designers take inspiration from their
contemporaneous collections, adapting garments from the runway to the ballet stage. They
work within their own unique design vocabularies to create costumes that are true to their
identities as couturiers. How they handle any functional challenges created by the driving
aesthetic speaks to the ingenuity of the designer. Some fashion designers, like Christian Lacroix
and Jean Paul Gaultier, have a long history of designing costumes for the stage, imbuing their
couture collections with a strong theatricality. Designers like Rei Kawakubo and Ralph Rucci
have created ballet costumes that follow closely on the heels of their fashion creations, fitting
neatly into their distinctive oeuvres while adapting to the functional needs of dance. The
costumes featured in this section demonstrate the ability of these designers to translate their
own individual aesthetics to the ballet stage. [144 words]
 Form Follows Fashion 27

24
20 23

26 28
21 22 29
25
Merce Cunningham, a highly influential
twentieth century choreographer, initiated
radical, unlikely collaborations to produce
his pieces. Rei Kawakubo was the first
fashion designer he approached to form one
such partnership. Kawakubo’s costumes for
Scenario pushed the limits of costume design.
Directly related to her 1997 Spring/Summer
collection, she re-shaped the dancers’ bodies,
challenging their ability to move freely.
Although Cunningham worked in modern Comme des
Garçons, Spring
dance, the impact of this collaboration echoed 1997 Ready-to-Wear
throughout the dance world.
[74 words]

20. Rei Kawakubo/Comme des Garçons

Costume for male dancer
Scenario, Merce Cunningham Dance Company
1997
Stretch nylon, down pads
Merce Cunningham Dance Company
 Poster promoting Scenario,
Merce Cunningham Dance
Company, 1997

Video clip of Scenario (running time 1:59)

Choreography by Merce Cunningham
Costumes by Rei Kawakubo/Comme des Garçons
Music by Takehisa Kosugi
2014
Merce Cunningham Dance Company
(Located on Video Monitor B, Object 30)
American fashion designer Ralph Rucci is known
for strong, smooth, sculptural forms. Rucci was
asked to create costumes for the American Ballet
Theatre’s C. to C. Close to Chuck), a work based on
Philip Glass’ musical portrait of Chuck Close. True
to his aesthetic, Rucci designed this black grown
with a sheer bodice and full skirt that incorporates
Close’s self-portrait. The effect is one of
weightlessness mixed with substance concealing a
colorful secret.
[73 words]
Ralph Rucci, Fall
2007 Ready-to-Wear
21. Chado Ralph Rucci
Costume for female dancer
C. to C. (Close to Chuck), American Ballet Theatre
2007
Duchess satin, nylon crin, leather cord, mesh
American Ballet Theatre Collection
"It's much more difficult to design for the ballet than to design a fashion collection.
You have to be much more humble because you are part of the group. There is not
the selfish pleasure of designing my own dreams.“

-Christian Lacroix

Christian Lacroix dress

22. Christian Lacroix
(Vogue, October 1987)
Drawing of costume for “Principal Cancan” dancer
Gaité Parisienne, American Ballet Theatre
1987
Pencil and watercolor on paper
American Ballet Theatre
 Christian Lacroix,
23. Christian Lacroix Fall 2002 Couture
Costume for female dancer
La Source, Opéra National de Paris
2012
Silk tulle, embroidered silk, Swarovski crystals
Opéra National de Paris
 Balmain, Fall 2012
Ready-to-Wear

24. Olivier Rousteing of Balmain

Costume for male dancer
Renaissance, Opéra National de Paris
2017
Silk, lycra/spandex, sequins, pearls, costume jewels
Opéra National de Paris
Promotional video for Renaissance (running time 0:57)
Directed by James Bort
Choreography by Sébastien Bertaud
Costumes by Olivier Rousteing of Balmain
Dancers Dorothée Gilbert, Amandine Albisson, Anaïs Duboscq, Audric Bezard, and Thomas Docquir
2017
Opéra National de Paris
(Located on Video Monitor B, Object 30)
 Prabal Gurung, Fall
2013 Ready-to-Wear
25. Prabal Gurung
Costume for female dancer
Capricious Maneuvers, New York City Ballet
2013
Silk satin, organza, leather
New York City Ballet
 The Times are Racing performance, New York
City Ballet, 2016

26. Opening Ceremony (Humberto Leon)

Costume for male dancer
The Times are Racing, New York City Ballet
2016
Cotton, spandex, denim
New York City Ballet
“…Fred Astaire meets street dance meets ballet. I tried to follow that idea: what in my mind was Fred
Astaire? What in my mind was street? What in my mind was ballet? It was critical to create an equal
balance between those elements. And at the core, of course, was ballet.”
-Humberto Leon, Opening Ceremony, 2017

“New York City Ballet Presents: Justin Peck’s The Times are Racing with Music by Dan Deacon” (running time 3:11)
Choreography by Justin Peck
Costumes by Humberto Leon of Opening Ceremony
Music by Dan Deacon
2017
New York City Ballet
(Located on Video Monitor B, Object 30)
Video clip of The Times are Racing (running time 0:49)
Choreography by Justin Peck
Costumes by Humberto Leon of Opening Ceremony
Music by Dan Deacon
2016
New York City Ballet
(Located on Video Monitor B, Object 30)
 Alexander McQueen,
Spring 2013 Ready-to-Wear
27. Sarah Burton for Alexander McQueen
Coat for male dancer
Funérailles, New York City Ballet
2014
Silk with metallic gold embroidery
New York City Ballet
Funérailles performance, New
York City Ballet, 2014
 Boléro performance, Opéra Givenchy, Fall 2013 Ready-
National de Paris, 2013 to-Wear

28. Riccardo Tisci of Givenchy

Costume Sketches
Boléro, Opéra National de Paris
Colored pencil on paper
2013
Opéra National de Paris
Jean Paul Gaultier brought a dark, Gothic Jean Paul Gaultier, Fall
2007 Couture Collection
aesthetic to the ballet adaptation of Snow
White in collaboration with the Ballet
Preljocaj. The Evil Queen’s costume
displayed here strongly echoes elements
from his Fall 2007 Couture Collection, with
its reliance on black, its dramatic sweep, its
distended shoulders and its eye-catching
headpiece. Gaultier’s theatrical tendencies
as a designer lend themselves well to the
stage, as evidenced by his long history of
designing for ballet.
[73 words]

29. Jean Paul Gaultier

Costume for the Evil Queen
Blanche Neige (Snow White), Ballet Preljocaj
2008
Leather, silk, lycra/spandex
Ballet Preljocaj
30. Video Monitor B
• Video clip of Scenario, Costumes by Rei Kawakubo, Merce
Cunningham Dance Company (2014)
• Promotional video for Renaissance, Costumes by Balmain, Opéra
National de Paris (2017)
• “New York City Ballet Presents: Justin Peck’s The Times are
Racing with Music by Dan Deacon”, Costumes by Opening
Ceremony, New York City Ballet (2017)
• Video clip of The Times are Racing, Costumes by Opening
Ceremony, New York City Ballet (2016)
 Form
Follows
Fashion

Form
Follows
Function

Les
Ballets
Russes
 Form
Follows
Fashion

Form
Follows
Function

Les
Ballets
Russes
Educational Programming
• Panel discussion with Marc Happel from NYCB Costume Shop and
Justin Peck, NYCB Resident Choreographer, to discuss the
collaborative process between choreography and costume
design/production
(Dorothy and Lewis B. Cullman Center, Bruno Walter Auditorium)
• Screening of video footage of Ballets Russes performances
(Dorothy and Lewis B. Cullman Center, Third Floor Screening Room)
• Costume design workshops for kids
(Dorothy and Lewis B. Cullman Center, Third Floor Screening Room)
• Ballet classes for children and adults
(Dance studio space at Lincoln Center)
Thank you.