Emblem of femininity, elegance, and grace, the ballerina has exercised an enormous influence over the creative arts, not the least of which is fashion. It is exactly to explore the rapport between fashion-ballerina that the FIT in New York is setting up an exhibition that traces the intense connection between the two art forms, through the haute couture models inspired by the corsets of tutus, the sports apparel borrowed from modern ballet, and a selection of footwear that ranges from flat “ballerinas” to ‘en pointe’ models on heels.
The relationship between the two became even more evident between the Thirties and Sixties, when ballets like Swan Lake, Giselle, and Sleeping Beauty ended up inspiring couturiers of the calibre of Dior, Chanel, and Balmain. An allure, that of the ballerina, that echoes with glamour with each en pointe step taken.