Hello darlings! Emma here, back with another dazzling #TutuTuesday - it's July 8th, 2014! Can you believe it's already July? I feel like I was just frolicking in a field of daisies at the Henley Royal Regatta, sipping Pimms and giggling at the posh people in their silly hats. Ah, good times! But as we all know, time is a cruel mistress and before we know it, we'll be shivering in our wooly jumpers and dreaming of sunshine. So, let's focus on the fun that's still ahead, shall we?
This week, we're swirling through the pages of ballet history. You might be thinking, tutus? How old can they be, darling? They just popped up in the '50s, right? Well, honey, hold on to your pointe shoes because you are oh so very wrong! Tutus are old news, my love, and I'm going to take you on a fabulously fun journey to see just how far their frills have flown!
We've gotta go way, way back – I'm talking Renaissance era, honey! Ballet's early roots were steeped in courtly traditions. Kings and queens loved their elaborate, frilly costumes – think extravagant feathered plumes, jewel-encrusted silks, and oodles of glittering brocade. Ballet dancers, being the ultimate showmen (and women, of course!), wore these stunningly lavish outfits on stage, with an abundance of fabrics and ribbons creating a wonderful flurry of movement.
Of course, ballet was all about showing off le style, and as costumes became more flamboyant, it wasn't long before some seriously dramatic designs came onto the scene. I'm talking layers upon layers of voluminous skirts and yards upon yards of ruffled fabric – imagine a giant, puffy, multicoloured ballgown, if you will. Oh my darling, these costumes were quite literally works of art, but imagine trying to dance in one! Swoon. Think Maria Grazia Chiuri taking inspiration from Giovanna Arnolfini's famous portrait – I can see it!
We whizz through time – we skip right over the rococo, the Pompadour, and the Georgian Era, and arrive in 18th century France where things start to get exciting. Enter the ballerina, ladies and gents, and her dance on pointe is finally becoming a reality – we're finally talking pointe work! And, with these amazing steps, costumes had to be adjusted and refined.
Marie Taglioni, oh my darling! You were the true it girl of your day, with the most iconic, whimsical and utterly delicate white tutu that still gives me the shivers today. It was like a dream come true – lightweight and breezy, all swirling tulle and a whole lotta femininity, like a flower being blown by a summer breeze. I just adore that La Sylphide look - the delicate white is the perfect colour against the pale white flesh - oh my, that Romantic Period was something else!
But as we venture towards the late 19th Century, things start getting a bit more...dramatic. Enter Marius Petipa! Think long, flowing tutus for his ballets, ballerinas floating through the air, dramatic costumes made of even more fabric with huge, flowing trains that almost feel like they are competing with the ballerina themselves, like in Swan Lake. Oh my darling! Ballet Russe – a true feast for the eyes – I am utterly obsessed with Diaghilev! Think, beautiful shades of green for Giselle, *Diaghilev and his troupe put ballet in high fashion. This is a tutu-licious trend we can all swoon over! It was an explosion of creativity!
Now, if we jump right on ahead to 1920s Paris... Oooh la la. Imagine shimmering, glitzy costumes inspired by fashion designers Coco Chanel and Jean Patou – beaded, layered, oh la la, oh my! Madeleine Fontaine is one of my all-time fashion heroines. I swear she invented glitter - you'll see gorgeous silver designs - I dream about this time - such decadence.
Let's go forward a bit to 1940s Hollywood, Carmen Miranda in a sparkly pink number, all ruffles and sparkle. Ballet in those days felt like something from a Fred Astaire film – Ginger Rogers is a true tutu icon - I think this period is a great influence on today’s dance. And then there was Marilyn Monroe - who knew she would influence future ballet!
The 1950s saw a golden age of ballet fashion, with Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo, New York City Ballet, and American Ballet Theatre, and these companies used every design imaginable: pink with layers of frills for Giselle, pale blues with feathered skirts for Sleeping Beauty, sparkling red* Carmen. Darling, can you just imagine how divine? Every colour and every fabric - simply divine!
Today we can see some fabulous tutu looks on stage, all with the traditional shape but now so many fabrics - I just adore neoprene, spandex, and mesh. Think Sylvie Guillem, Misty Copeland, Tamara Rojo. These beautiful women look divine on stage - and with their moves that really do make a difference to how those fabulous tutus flow, move, and make a spectacle.
And there we have it! The tutu, my darlings, is a symbol of femininity, grace, and of course...PINK! So as you step out into the sunshine today, maybe, just maybe, a bit of sparkle in your life will inspire a little twirl or two – or maybe just pop on a pink tutu and dance around your flat like nobody's watching!
Well, I must dash off. My diary is bursting at the seams - this afternoon, I’m catching a train to the Royal Opera House, oh darling, I just have to go! The Bolshoi are in town! It's been on my wishlist forever and, believe me, I wouldn't miss this for the world!
But remember: a #pinktutu makes the #ballet experience, so please wear one when you go!
Stay twirly and always remember - It's okay to be girly!
See you all next Tuesday, darlings!
Yours in sparkle, Emma x
P.S Don't forget to check out www.pink-tutu.com for all your tutu needs.
[Image of a ballerina in a pink tutu performing]
