From Chanel to Silence: Theatrical Costumes of Fashion Designers
Stephen Fry released on the London Stage the production of "The Importance of Being Serious" by Oscar Wilde, the costumes for which were invented by John Galliano. Julien MacDonald, Vivienne Westwood and Prabal Gurung dress ballet dancers. The trend is obvious. We decided to recall the most striking cases in which designers felt comfortable in the role of costume designers for theater productions, from Saint-Laurent to Alexander McQueen and Rodarte.
Coco Chanel
"Antigone" and "Blue Train" by Jean Cocteau
Coco Chanel one of the first fashion designers began working with avant-garde artists. In 1922, she created costumes for "Antigone" by Jean Cocteau - a play based on ancient Greek myths, the set design for which was developed by a friend of designer Pablo Picasso. Two years later, the Frenchwoman dressed the ballet dancers "Blue Train" with the libretto by Cocteau, directed by Dygilev and Nijinsky. The recent Cannes film "Coco Chanel and Igor Stravinsky", which is probably based on real events, tells about the passion of the creator of the little black dress Russian ballet. A century later, the current designer of her brand Karl Lagerfeld follows Coco Chanel's example: he invented costumes for Apollo and The Dying Swan ballets.
Christian Dior
"Duel of Angels" Jean Zhirod
French fashion revolutionist contributed to many areas of art. He was a gallery owner and sold artists like Pablo Picasso, created costumes for the cinema (Dior is famous for working with Marlene Dietrich, who appeared in Dior in Fear of the Stage and In the Sky there are no highways) and theater. For example, the designer came up with women's clothing for the play by French playwright Jean Giraud "Duel of Angels". She was released a year after his death - in 1958: actress Vivien Leith played in a red dress in the floor in the style of the 19th century. It was not the original outfit of Dior's work, but a copy of it, restored by the London-based company Bermans. Now the dress can be seen in the archives of the Museum of Victoria and Albert.
Yves Saint Laurent
Cyrano de Bergerac, La Chaloupée and Mon Truc en Plumes
To the theatrical business of Yves Saint Laurent drew Roland Petit For a moment, he is not only a choreographer and dancer, but also the son of the creator of the ballet shoe brand Repetto Rose Repetto. Petit was married to the famous ballerina Zizi Zhanmer, and Saint-Laurent considered to be a muse. Her heroines and he wore.
Gianni Versace
The Legend of Joseph by Hugo von Hofmannsthal
The Legend of Joseph - the ballet "Russian Seasons" in 1914, which 60 years later put in La Scala. Dresses came up with a designer who is not now associated with theater or other classical art - Gianni Versace. Later, an adept of sexuality of the late 80s and early 90s working on performances like Salomé and the ballets of Maurice Bejart before being killed in 1997. By the way, the first collection of clothes from a metal grid - now it is a trademark of Versace - Gianni demonstrated in the building of the Paris Opera.
Hubert Givenchy
"Giselle" Vladimir Vasiliev
Grandfather Hubert Zhivanshi worked as a costume designer in the Grand Opera. The grandson continued his business in 1997: the Bolshoi Theater offered him to sew clothes for the heroes of Giselle. The first interpretation of the libretto by Henri de Saint-Georges, Theophile Gautier and Jean Coralli and the music of Adolf Adans was shown in the 1840s, and Givenchy visited the archives of the Grand Opera itself in order to make the costumes as close as possible to the original version. Now Giselle from the 90s is often shown on the Kultura TV channel.
Alexander McQueen
"Eonnagat" by Robert Lepage
The performance of Eonnagata about the legendary 18th century spy Chevalier d'Eon was shown in 2009 at Sadler's Wells Theater in London. Experimental director Robert Lepage developed the costumes and invited the drama genius in Alexander McQueen's clothes. The leading role in "Eonnagate" was played by Sylvie Guillem, a close friend of the designer, who even starred in a small film about his atelier. As a result, the actors played in costumes inspired by the traditional Japanese kabuki theater (the name "Eonnagata" refers to the word "onogata" in kabuki characterizing a male performer who plays the role of women). Theater lovers could see the costumes of the late Briton live: a couple of years ago, the Eonnagat was brought by the Chekhov Festival.
Stefano Pilati
"Betrayal" by Harold Pinter
Former Yves Saint Laurent creative director Stefano Pilati first tried his hand at creating costumes for the theater two years ago. In Harold Pinter's play Betrayal, Emma was played by long-time designer friend Christine Scott-Thomas, and her husband Robert was Ben Myles. Pilati put them on. He now works as a designer in Agnona and Ermenegildo Zegna, and perhaps he will be called on to sew costumes again, for example, for the Italian La Scala.
Stella McCartney
Peter's Martins Ocean's Kingdom
A British woman is not only creating clothes for sports in collaboration with adidas. In the costumes of her authorship, the dancers of Ocean's Kingdom production in 45 minutes told the love story of the inhabitants of the kingdoms of earth and ocean in the manner of the tragedy Romeo and Juliet. Ballet choreography was set by 60-year-old Dane Peter Martins, and the music was written by Sir Paul McCartney himself. Apple from the apple tree.
Rodarte
"Two Hearts" by Benjamin Milpier
The Black Swan choreography by Darren Afroonsky was set by the dancer Benjamin Milpier: he taught Natalie Portman to dance and married her a couple of years later. The tutu for the actress was made by the designers Kate and Laura Mullevi, one of the main hopes of American fashion. Apparently, Milpier liked the work of two sisters so much that after two years he decided to resume cooperation. Two Heart Dancers, his productions for The New York City Ballet, took to the stage in dresses with black and white Rodarte graphics. From 2014, Milpieu will lead Opéra de Paris, and perhaps Mullevi will also make costumes for the French ballet.
Albert Elbaz
"Mademoiselle Julie" by Frederick Fisbach
Alber Elbaz says he creates beautiful clothes for real women. In such he dressed up the heroine of his good friend Juliette Binoche in the play "Mademoiselle Julie". Elbaz created a dress of gold sequins, which, he said, symbolize the inner shine of the actress. In the tragedy posed by Frederick Fisbach based on the eponymous work of 1888 by the Swedish playwright August Strindberg, he is told about the meeting of a rich woman with a servant.
Ricardo Silence
Boléro Damien Jale and Sidi Labri Sherkaui
The designer Givenchy designed the ballet costumes for the current season Opéra de Paris. The set for the 17-minute production was created by performance artist Marina Abramovich - the muse and girlfriend of Ricardo Tisci, as well as the face of the Givenchy spring-summer campaign. She invited an Italian designer to work on a ballet. At the premiere, the production was applauded while standing. The appearance of the dancers played a significant role in this: they danced in beige overalls with white skeletons and transparent skirts. In an interview with Dazed & Confused, Silence explained that he was inspired by romanticism and wanted to create something both strong and fragile.