Dance & Fashion Exhibit

FIT (Fashion Institute of Technology) 

Seventh Avenue at 27 Street
New York City 10001-5992

Dance & Fashion
Special Exhibitions Gallery
September 13, 2014 – January 3, 2015
MFIT's upcoming exhibition Dance & Fashion is a stunning exploration of the relationship between these two embodied art forms. Organized by the museum’s director, Dr. Valerie Steele, and set in a dramatic mise-en-scène created by architect Kim Ackert, Dance & Fashion features nearly 100 dance costumes and dance-inspired fashions, ranging from the 19th century to the present, many of which have never been exhibited.

Dance & Fashion opens with a superb display of ballet costumes and related fashions from the 1830s and 1840s, the era of the Romantic ballet. A rare Spanish-style costume worn by the great ballerina, Fanny Elssler, is accompanied by fashions of the period. A costume by Christian Bérard for Symphonie Fantastique, along with a costume by Mme Karinska for Ballet Imperial, demonstrates the evolution of classic ballet costume, while a costume from Creole Giselle for the Dance Theater of Harlem evokes the continuing appeal of the Romantic ballet.

Stella McCartney, man’s tattoo costume for Ocean’s Kingdom, Fall 2011, lent by New York City Ballet. Photograph © The Museum at FIT	Rodarte, woman’s costume for Two Hearts, Spring 2012, lent by New York City Ballet. Photograph © The Museum at FIT.	Halston, woman’s costume for Tangled Night, 1986, lent by Martha Graham Dance Company. Photograph © The Museum at FIT

Christian Dior’s Black Swan ball gown epitomizes ballet’s influence on fashion design. Conversely, Marc Happel, costume director of New York City Ballet, has said that his costumes for Symphony in C were inspired by fashions designed by Dior and Balenciaga. The pointe shoes of famous dancers such as Anna Pavlova and Margot Fonteyn are juxtaposed with high-fashion styles by Christian Louboutin and Noritaka Tatehana that were inspired by ballet shoes.

The Orientalism of the Ballets Russes (1909-29) has also influenced generations of fashion designers, from Paul Poiret to Yves Saint Laurent. A costume from Schéhérazade, 1910, designed by the artist Léon Bakst and recently acquired by The Museum at FIT, is the centerpiece in a display of extraordinary fashions and costumes, including a couture ensemble from Yves Saint Laurent’s 1976 Ballets Russes collection and an ensemble by Ungaro worn by Princess Caroline of Monaco. There are also costumes worn by dancers such as Rudolf Nureyev and Mikhail Baryshnikov.

Among the fashion designers who have created costumes for the ballet are Yves Saint Laurent and Riccardo Tischi of Givenchy (for the Paris Opera Ballet), Christian Lacroix, and Jean Paul Gaultier, plus Valantino Garavani, Prabal Gurung, Giles Mendel, Olivier Theyskens, Rodarte, and Iris Van Herpen, all of whom have created costumes for New York City Ballet.

Rick Owens, ensemble, Spring 2014, lent by Rick Owens. Photograph © The Museum at FIT.	Olivier Theyskens, woman’s costume for Spectral Evidence, Fall 2013, Lent by New York City Ballet. Photograph © The Museum at FIT.	Valentino, woman’s costume for Sophisticated Lady, Fall 2012, lent by New York City Ballet. Photograph © The Museum at FIT.

For the modern dance section, the Martha Graham Dance Company has loaned noteworthy dresses, some designed and worn by Graham herself, and others the product of a close collaboration between Halston and Graham. Once adamantly opposed to ballet, modern dance choreographers have increasingly incorporated elements from ballet and other dance genres, resulting in new forms of modern and post-modern dance. Dance & Fashion includes several important African-Caribbean-inspired costumes from Katherine Dunham, a costume from José Limon’s Moor’s Pavane, and one from Alvin Ailey’s Revelations. Fashion designers featured who have created costumes for modern dance include Narciso Rodriguez for Morphoses, Francisco Costa for Elisa Monte, and Tara Subkoff for Stephen Petronio, among others. A highlight is a costume from Merce Cunningham’s Scenario designed by Rei Kawakubo of Comme des Garçons, juxtaposed with a CDG “bump” dress, which inspired the dance costume.

In addition to ballet and modern dance, there is a flamenco dress and a selection of flamenco-inspired dresses by designers such as Cristobal Balenciaga, Elsa Schiaparelli, Jeanne Paquin, Oscar de la Renta, and Ralph Lauren. Recently, Rick Owens was so inspired by African-American step dancers that they performed at his runway show in Paris. Examples of his designs are also included.

Also on view is art work by David Michelek featuring ballerina Wendy Whelan, and a series of 13 photographs and a video by acclaimed dance and fashion photographer Anne Deniau, also known as Ann Ray, in collaboration with performers from the Paris Opera Ballet.  In addition, there are selected dance videos, as well as videotaped interviews with Marc Happel, costume director of the New York City Ballet, and others.

A multi-author book, to be published by Yale University Press, will accompany the exhibition. A two-day symposium on October 23-24, 2014, that will be free and open to the public, will further explore dance and fashion. There will also be a series of free lectures, workshops, and tours as part of the museum’s Fashion Culture program.

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