Balletcore, the style trend inspired by the costumes of traditional ballet dancers, has been popular since 2022, inspired by the spring/summer runway collections of designers corresponding to Molly Goddard and Simone RochaThe trend is inspired by the sensible, functional clothing a ballerina wears each day – a part of the disciplined training and ritual of this art form. Think bodysuits, wrap jackets, tulle skirts, leggings and ballet flats.
The trend is a reinterpretation of an extended tradition of fashion designers taking inspiration from the art of ballet. Its enduring appeal is probably as a consequence of its accessibility. With such strong visual cues, this aesthetic can easily be achieved through Vintage and second-hand shopping.
Because of its soft colours and silhouettes, balletcore is usually related to traditional notions of femininity, grace, control, sophistication and discipline. However, this was not at all times the case. The ballerina was once considered “immoral” figure.
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Ballet was originally performed by male aristocrats and only became dominated by women within the 18th and early nineteenth centuries. Costumes of this era reflected contemporary women's fashion. To allow freedom of movement and for audiences to admire the dancers' intricate footwork, hemlines were raised and silhouettes emphasized the feminine form. These aspects reinforced the perception that acting on stage was not a decent occupation.
Library of Congress
The early twentieth century was a very important turning point within the perception of ballet and its relationship to fashion. Between 1910 and 1929, the Paris-based (The Russian Ballet) represented modern ballet in its most modern form and had an excellent influence on designers corresponding to Paul Poiret.
Poiret and fellow designer Gabrielle “Coco” Chanel were very competitive, and each were inspired by the exotic creations of the corporate's chief costume designer, Leon Bakst. Chanel later became a designer for the corporate herself, and the loose-fitting silhouettes and light-weight, sheer fabrics worn by the dancers became her trademark. The move away from traditional corsets allowed for greater freedom of movement and had a significant influence on the leading Parisian designers of the time.
This influence continued throughout the century for very practical reasons. During and after World War II, clothing and footwear were rationed, which meant that creative use of clothes and materials and recycling were essential and encouraged.
Dance and sportswear weren’t rationed in the identical way as civilian clothing. This made ballet-like fabrics and styles popular with leading international fashion designers, corresponding to Claire McCardell.
While studying at Parsons School in Paris, McCardell had access to Chanel patterns that she could take apart and sketch. This shaped her design ethos and he or she is taken into account considered one of the designers answerable for the fashionable American sportswear look, laying the inspiration for Diane Von Furstenberg and Donna Karan.
Newspaper clipping, The Virginian Pilot, 1952.
In the Forties, Harper's Bazaar editor Diana Vreeland published articles about wearing ballet flats as on a regular basis shoes. McCardell took this a step further and worked directly with dancewear brand Capezio to create shoes using fabrics that matched her garments.
This adoption of ballet clothing continued within the Nineteen Fifties and Sixties through the clothing of the feminine “Beatniks”. “Beatniks” was originally a derogatory term first coined in 1958 to explain a generation of post-World War II youth who rejected traditional values and formal dress. The movement was a response to mainstream American consumerism and valued individuality and freedom of expression, reflecting their anti-establishment values.
Beatnik women wore a “uniform” of black jeans, capri pants, Breton stripes, turtlenecks, wrap ballet jackets and ballet flats, and their cool nonchalance continues to be evident today, reflecting the recognition of those now classic styles. This counterculture movement had a significant influence on costume design and varieties of Hollywood Stars like Audrey Hepburn and Grace Kelly, who then became more mainstream.
Contemporary iterations and “icons”
In the early Eighties, the tutu was taken over by the singer Cyndi Lauper as a part of her iconoclastic stage look. As a New York-based artist and performer, this might be the costume designer Patricia Field’s ideas for the Opening credits the tv series “Sex and the City” (1998), by which the protagonist Carrie Bradshaw (Sarah Jessica Parker) struts through the streets of the town in a tutu.
In 1997, Field bought this prop for only 5 US dollars (£3.89) in a bargain bin within the garment district, it recently sold at auction for $52,000 (£40,500). The cultural and financial value created by this single garment speaks to the ability of ballet and the way the art form has been adopted and subverted over time. The same is true of the characteristic ballerinas worn by singer Amy Winehouse and the Tulle dress by Molly Goddard worn by Jody Comer in Killing Eve, which symbolized female rise up and nonconformity.
Balletcore continues to alter and evolve. In 2024, it was considered one of Depop's resale platforms most searched trendsThe art form endures and inspires fashion and magnificence across generations.
image credit : theconversation.com