Ballet & fashion: the other’s muse

A new exhibition Ballet & Fashion is an exciting collaboration between The National Gallery of Victoria and The Australian Ballet, with the support of Vogue Australia.

The exhibition offers fans of dance and design an opportunity to see inside the wardrobes from dance companies around the world, and how the creative synergy between the two disciplines encourages innovation.

Tony Ellwood, Director NGV, said “We are thrilled to be working with The Australian Ballet to bring this exceptional exhibition to Melbourne audiences over summer.”

The exhibition displays over twenty works from the past three decades by renowned international and Australian fashion designers including Giles Deacon, Akira Isogawa, Toni Maticevski, Valentino, Christian Lacroix and Viktor&Rolf.

The exhibition illustrates the dynamic history dance and fashion have shared and celebrates the creative inspiration design and dance provide each other. Just as the dancer can act as the designer’s muse, the garments designers create for dancing companies can also influence mainstream fashion.

The costumes on display offer a chance to observe the interesting interplay between the two art forms throughout history, with the influence of each encouraging the other to push boundaries and add to either the design or dance narrative.

The exhibition illustrates how viewing ballet through the lens of fashion and can add another layer to the storytelling process of the performance, with the fashion designer often finding new ways to interpret a silhouette, displaying how artists can be inspired by working together.

Ballet & Fashion is now showing at the National Gallery of Victoria.
To learn more visit ngv.vic.gov.au.