Photographer: Tony Free
I was reflecting the other day on the parallels between fashion and dance and how the two have been influencing each other. I love fashion and love dance, so I tend to think quite a lot about them.
Last year when Black Swan came out, ballet wear was all the rage. Ballerina pumps and swan dresses were to be seen everywhere and bridal gowns seemed to have come out a ballet company wardrobe.
The love affair between fashion and dance goes way back and it seems to be constantly renewing itself.
In her book The Lure of Perfection: Fashion and Ballet 1780-1830 (2005) Judith Chazin Bennahum traces the influence between the attire of this period and the costumes developed for ballet and shows how from more cumbersome clothing women literally danced their way to freedom.
In the 19th century when Romanticism was in full swing there appeared on stage pastel colours, flowing skirts and bare shins. In the early 20th century Diaghilev's Ballet Russes dancers wore designs by the one and only Coco Chanel for the dance Le train bleu. Karl Lagerfeld, creative director of La Maison Chanel since 1983, continued this love affair with ballet and most recently, in 2011, designed the costumes for the English National Ballet.
The Martha Graham Company last year announced that the dancers would be wearing Donna Karan, Calvin Klein and Oscar de la Renta in the new touring productions.
Photographer: Tony Free
But it is not only the clothes and the costumes that seem to mirror each other. Fashion and dance have a way of influencing body image and show similarity in their practices of exclusion.
Ballet companies screen their dancers in terms of height and body type, whereas the big fashion houses choose to be represented by women (and men) with a specific look, height and body type. The claim that "clothes do not sit well on a build other than tall and slim" is echoed by the similar claim that "ballet does not sit well on bodies that are not long and slim". Even Graham, whose technique was not balletic, was very particular about her company dancers' body type. True, in dance long and slim does not mean that height is a requirement, it means that the legs should be long in relation to the torso. This however still makes the ballet body removed from the reality of everyday bodies.
We see then that on one hand fashion is for everyone - from the catwalk it goes into the high street and everyone is encouraged to consume it. On the other it remains quite exclusive, not only in terms of how affordable the unique sartorial creations are but also in terms of the kind of body that is expected to wear such designs.
Photographer: Tony Free
Similarly it could be said that on one hand dance is inclusive - certainly everyone can learn and be trained - but when it comes to performing apart from technical ability the issue of body type still surfaces.
In more recent years dance has changed. Ballet remains the most conservative of all in terms of its dancers, but contemporary dancers tend to be of non-traditional body build. Other criteria have developed, in some styles athleticism is prized more than in others and this has also meant a change in the way dancers, either male or female, look.
Fashion too is changing. Model agencies are reflecting such changes in terms of who they take on. But the catwalk is still dominated by young, tall and slim models.
Thus it was most encouraging to see that London College of Fashion recently recruited non-standard non-industry models to wear their graduates designs at shows. The rationale for this move was that LCF graduates really want individuality and this was the quality they were looking for in their models. Their designs are still for the young end of the market but they feel that they should be worn by bodies, by people who would stand out for their individuality. "It is an issue of identity" said staff at LCF casting.
Photographer: Caroline Michael (from the Rapunzel shoot)
As a model I have been involved in a couple of projects by LCF students, the most recent one a fashion shoot by Caroline Michael who received a MA in Fashion Photography from the college in December 2011.
I have not made it to the LCF catwalk yet, but who knows what the future might bring?
(All photos modelled by Alex B)
We see then that on one hand fashion is for everyone - from the catwalk it goes into the high street and everyone is encouraged to consume it. On the other it remains quite exclusive, not only in terms of how affordable the unique sartorial creations are but also in terms of the kind of body that is expected to wear such designs.
Photographer: Tony Free
Similarly it could be said that on one hand dance is inclusive - certainly everyone can learn and be trained - but when it comes to performing apart from technical ability the issue of body type still surfaces.
In more recent years dance has changed. Ballet remains the most conservative of all in terms of its dancers, but contemporary dancers tend to be of non-traditional body build. Other criteria have developed, in some styles athleticism is prized more than in others and this has also meant a change in the way dancers, either male or female, look.
Fashion too is changing. Model agencies are reflecting such changes in terms of who they take on. But the catwalk is still dominated by young, tall and slim models.
Thus it was most encouraging to see that London College of Fashion recently recruited non-standard non-industry models to wear their graduates designs at shows. The rationale for this move was that LCF graduates really want individuality and this was the quality they were looking for in their models. Their designs are still for the young end of the market but they feel that they should be worn by bodies, by people who would stand out for their individuality. "It is an issue of identity" said staff at LCF casting.
Photographer: Caroline Michael (from the Rapunzel shoot)
As a model I have been involved in a couple of projects by LCF students, the most recent one a fashion shoot by Caroline Michael who received a MA in Fashion Photography from the college in December 2011.
I have not made it to the LCF catwalk yet, but who knows what the future might bring?
(All photos modelled by Alex B)
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