The House of CHANEL and the world of dance, particularly ballet, have long had a symbiotic relationship. In 1913, Gabrielle Chanel along with her great love Boy Capel, attended a performance of Stavinsky’s The Rite of Spring. Choreographed by Nijinsky, the principal dancer in Sergei Diaghilev’s famed Ballets Russes, the piece was groundbreaking and considered rather scandalous. However, Mademoiselle Chanel was captivated. Thanks to her deep friendship with the Polish socialite, pianist, muse, and patron of the arts, Misia Sert, Chanel would be introduced to Sergei Diaghilev.
While Gabrielle Chanel had brought new life to the rather staid world of fashion with her quite literally freeing designs (she famously shunned the once de rigueur corset), Sergei Diaghilev did so with the world of dance. With the founding of his Ballets Russes, Diaghliev upended the conservative and classical environs of ballet. Music, dance, and the visual arts came together under Diaghliev’s artistic vision. His dance works brought together some of the great composers of the 19th and 20th century like Mussorgsky, Prokofiev, Rimsky-Korsakov and Debussy with groundbreaking visual artists of the 20th century like Matisse, Picasso, and Cocteau.
When Diaghliev decided to re-stage The Rites of Spring, Gabrielle Chanel stepped in as a patron and thus began the deep relationship between the House of CHANEL and the world of dance. Under the direction of Gabrielle Chanel, the House would go on to create costumes for the Ballet Russes production of Le Train bleu. These costumes would go on the inspire Karl Lagerfeld for the swimwear he created for the CHANEL Spring-Summer 1998 Ready-to-Wear collection. Chanel would also create costumes for another of Diaghilev’s pieces, 1929’s Apollon Musagète that featured music by Stravinsky and choreography by Balanchine.
After Gabrielle Chanel’s passing, Karl Lagerfeld continued to deepen the connection between the House of CHANEL and the world of dance. Deeply passionate about the arts, he would collaborate with multiple choreographers to create costumes for their pieces. Continuing Gabrielle Chanel’s early patronage, the House of CHANEL has been the official partner of the Nikinsky Awards Ceremony in Monaco since 2000 and the Lead patron of the Opening Gala for the dance season of the Opéra de Paris since 2018.
This deep commitment between Chanel and the world of dance was further honoured during the first performance of the Opéra national de Paris’ 2021 dance season. Principal dancers Valentine Colasante and Hugo Marchand performed the Grand Pas Classique – a famous pas de deux first presented in 1949 – in costumes specially created by CHANEL under the direction of Virginie Viard. Crafted by hand in the CHANEL atelier, the costumes bring together CHANEL’s incredible savoir faire with the classic stylings of traditional ballet costuming.
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Photography: CHANEL
