When it came to his ballets, the choreographer George Balanchine was the final word on the length and loft of a tutu. His interest in the headpieces and hairstyles of his dancers was keen. And in the late 1940s and the 1950s, he liked to see his wives—Maria Tallchief, followed by Tanaquil Le Clercq—in Christian Dior, whose New Look nipped waists and full skirts were essentially balletic. This is all to say that the man who was the heart and soul of New York City Ballet was involved in costuming and very aware of fashion.
Which is why the launch of N.Y.C.B.’s annual Fall Fashion Gala made such sense. It began when Sarah Jessica Parker, like a millennial sylph in a white tutu on the side of a bus, whispered in the ear of Peter Martins: Why not put designers and choreographers together once a year to create the now? In the fall of 2012, the Italian couturier Valentino was invited to design the costumes for four ballets at N.Y.C.B.
