Dance Tailors

With the theme Second skin, the following rooms reveal the underside of dance: leotards, precious tights, trompe l’oeil, studied transparency; or when the suit becomes a second skin to sublimate lines and curves. Surprising models from Balmain, Givenchy, On aura tout vu, Adeline André and Christian Lacroix take you on a journey to the land of the body.

The third part of the exhibition focuses on reinterpretations of the classic tutus, corsets and sailor tops, notably from the workshops of the Ballets de Monte-Carlo or the Paris Opera. A nod to the history of costume and dance magnified by Karl Lagerfeld, Yves Saint Laurent, Sylvie Skinazi, Jean Paul Gaultier or Christian Lacroix.

It is then the materials that are revealed in a fourth theme. Dance is a great testing ground. With it, the costume dares innovation. The visitor immerses here in the research of creators like Iris van Herpen or Hussein Chalayan from the choice of fabrics to the cuts of the costumes. Hussein Chalayan worked on the cutouts, the folds, the seams of the stage costume with a sensitive genius. Coco Chanel was the first to dress the dancers of the Ballets Russes in jersey for the play “Le Train Bleu”. In this tribute to sport, matter is free to play. Mademoiselle Chanel is the exceptional guest of these showcases.

Finally, the exhibition ends with a “coup de theater” with a unique duo both in terms of its richness and its longevity. The collaboration between Maurice Béjart and Gianni Versace extends over a dozen ballets, it remains to this day one of the most famous. The visitor will be able to find some of the great roles magnified by Béjart in plays such as “Pyramide – El Nour” or “Souvenirs de Leningrad”. Not to mention the famous dress created by Versace for Sylvie Guillem in the ballet “Sissi the anarchist empress”. Couturiers de la danse is a tribute to dance in all its… guises.