Mary Katrantzou’s unmistakable designs are beloved by Hollywood stars and style icons alike and have stolen the spotlight on the red carpet on more than one occasion (most recently, Taylor Swift’s notable blue alphabet-printed playsuit at the 2014 MTV Video Music Awards). Come Sept. 23 though, her creations will find fans in an entirely new set of stars—ballerinas.
New York City Ballet’s annual fall gala, which kicks off its four week-long fall season, will merge two art forms—ballet and fashion—with an impressive program that includes three world premiere ballets in which each choreographer collaborated with an esteemed designer (Thom Browne and Sarah Burton of Alexander McQueen) to craft center stage-worthy creations. Other ballets that evening will spotlight designs from Carolina Herrera and Valentino Garavani.
For Katrantzou, who partnered with NYCB soloist and resident choreographer Justin Peck, she drew inspiration from one particular look in her resort 2015 collection (below). Judging from the sketch (above), the designer’s ballet debut boasts the same complex embroidery as evidenced in all of her previous collections (including Swift’s VMA piece, also from the same resort collection), but without packing an overwhelming punch. Airy, neutral, and sheer, these Katrantzou originals are definitely softer, more demure, and right in line with the ballet’s elegant aesthetic.
And now we have two Katrantzou events to look forward to—her spring/summer 2015 collection at London Fashion Week in a couple of weeks and her ballet costumes that will soon grace the storied stage of David H.
Koch Theatre at Lincoln Center. Let the countdown begin!Check out the stars who are fans of Mary Katrantzou’s designs!