By Condé Nast Archive
By Laird Borrelli-Persson
Christy Turlington in a Jean Paul Gaultier Catsuit, Vogue (1990-09-01) by Arthur ElgortCondé Nast Archive
Fashion’s pas de deux with dance has taken many forms over the years. Tights, leotards, flat slippers, and leg warmers have been borrowed from mirrored and wooden-floored rehearsal spaces, and runways have been enlivened with dancers-cum-models.
Modernism, in general, was immensely inspired by Serge Diaghilev’s multidisciplinary Ballets Russes, whose draw was so great that the likes of Pablo Picasso, Coco Chanel, and Claude Debussy collaborated with the troupe.
Paul Poiret brought fashion in to the 20th century with innovations borrowed from the performances of the Ballets Russes, like a bold color palette and a fantastical exoticism.
Dancer Karin von Aroldingen in "Firebird" Costume, Vogue (1972-12-01) by Duane MichalsCondé Nast Archive
Unlike his rival Chanel’s clean-lined silhouettes made of humble jersey, Poiret gilded and embroidered his confections—all the better for a dramatic effect.
Approximately 100 years after this flurry of cross-genre innovation, Pierpaolo Piccioli and Maria Grazia Chiuri, then working together at Valentino, would channel Diaghilev’s company in their fall 2014 ready-to-wear collection for the house.
Allegra Kent in Lucie Ann Hostess Pajamas, Vogue (1961-11-15) by Bert SternCondé Nast Archive
(Unforgettable, too, was the Irish jig that model Coco Rocha performed at Jean Paul Gaultier one season.) Designers have found inspiration in the idea of dance and in specific dancers. Here a look at how these types and talents have influenced fashion.
Many designers have become enchanted with the idea of dancers over the years. Geoffrey Beene preferred dancers to models; the likes of Rick Owens, Viktor Horsting, and Rolf Snoeren have sent them down the runways.
Alicia Markova of The Ballet Theatre, Vogue (1941-10-15) by Horst P. HorstCondé Nast Archive
The Prima Ballerina
Her hair drawn tightly back, the prima ballerina is meticulous in her perfection, which is achieved, literally, through blood, sweat, and tears--though one would never know it, so ethereal are her movements—and costumes. (In 1937, Vogue made reference to “Degas and his butterfly ballet-girls.”)
In her starched tutu, the prima diva is the dance world’s equivalent of royalty and, like one Mlle. Genet who merited mention in a 1909 issue of the magazine, looks like “a child’s dream of a fairy come true.”
LIFE Photo Collection
Isadora Duncan
Isadora Duncan’s aim, noted Vogue, was to “restore the art of dancing to its Grecian glory.” Rejecting the strict discipline of the ballet, Duncan was a pioneering interpretive dancer. On feet that she described “as little birds with wings,”
Tina Chow in a Fortuny Gown, Vogue (1984-08-01) by Arthur ElgortCondé Nast Archive
It’s no surprise that she favored Mariano Fortuny’s micro-pleated “Delphos” dresses. Other designers who have taken a similarly haute Hellenic approach to fashion include French couturiers Madeleine Vionnet and Madame Grès.
Marisa Berenson in an Yves Saint Laurent Dance Dress, Vogue (1967-09-15) by Irving PennCondé Nast Archive
The Showgirl
There’s something in the way she moves…. The irrepressible showgirl, whether dancing with Les Folies Bergère in Paris or the Ziegfeld Follies in New York is the embodiment of glitz and sensuous glamour (think Josephine Baker in glittering lamé; Zizi Jeanmaire in Yves Saint Laurent’s fluttering feathers).
Immortalized in the paintings of Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, The showgirl’s also had an impact on fashion, channeled by modern designers such as John Galliano and Jean-Paul Gaultier.
Julie Kent Leaning on a Scooter, Vogue (1987-07-01) by Arthur ElgortCondé Nast Archive
The Off-Duty Dancer
Long before Alexander Wang popularized the MOD (model off-duty) style of leather jacket and ripped jeans, dancer rehearsal gear was having an impact of fashion. Unlike athleisure, much of which has streetwear origins, the “ODD”(off-duty dancer) look has a different pedigree--the studio.
Jane Fonda made great strides in home exercise in the seventies wearing leg warmers borrowed from barre rooms; and a tap dancer’s shortened rehearsal skirt is said to have inspired Mary Quant’s miniskirts, which helped set off the Youthquake.
