Designing Dance - At the Costume Store
29th October, 2010
Thank you to Kate Scott from The Australian Ballet for pulling together this week's excellent Designing Dance guest blog!! DON'T FORGET to leave a comment on any of this week's guest blog posts to be in the running to win a double pass to Madame Butterfly AND a Chip Chop ‘Pavlova’ tote! - Jenny x
Ruby Red Tutus. The tutus are stored upside down to keep the skirts buoyant! Photo by Jess Bialek
If fashion is the last repository of the marvellous, as Christian Dior once declared, costume archives might just be the last repository of the sublime.
For almost 50 years The Australian Ballet has been creating costumes and, like dancers, they need somewhere to rest between shows. That somewhere, since the 80s, has been a hundred-year-old wool store in Kensington, a space that exudes an almost magical air and exerts a magnetic pull over its visitors.
Storage crates, bags, boxes and wicker chests full of costumes. Photos by Kate Scott and Jess Bialek
Giant tutus!! Photos by Jess Bialek
Productions are stored with library precision by the store’s redoubtable Barbara Langley, but everywhere there’s something unexpected to surprise and delight. A handpainted ballet plate in the apple-green kitchen; bright yellow character shoes waiting to dance off a shelf; a simple shrine to ballet great Margot Fonteyn; a leather codpiece lying suggestively on a table; a storey-tall white tutu billowing from the rafters.
Photo by Jess Bialek
Clockwise from top left: Fonteyn Shrine, Kate's favourite yellow shoes and ballet plate in the wonderfully old-school kitchen. Photos by Kate Scott and Jess Bialek
It’s a place we’ve returned to time and time again for photo shoots, despite the store’s charming and not-so-charming impracticalities (no lifts to move costumes between floors; no heating in the winter). On the recent Madame Butterfly and Merry Widow shoots, the dancers had to be bundled into coats, scarves and slippers between takes as frost formed on the portable furnace, but no photography studio can match its ambience.
So cold that the gas bottle froze! Photo by Kitty Walker
Photos by Kitty Walker
It’s a place that makes adults exclaim with childlike delight; a dress-up box of epic proportions where the trinkets are designed by some of theatre’s greats. The very quotable Mr. Dior keenly observed “the designer is the last possessor of the wand of Cinderella's fairy godmother”. Perhaps that’s what makes this humble store a castle.
PS. For more photos of the store do visit The Australian Ballet Blog, Behind Ballet
ooo Waooow I would love to go ::*** so Magical***::
what a great giveaway.
I’d prolong my Australian visit for this =)
This has been my favourite guest blog yet.
Tack så mycket!
Omg I love those little green/yellow shoes! want!
fingers crossed for the amazing giveaway…
No wonder little girls all want to be ballerinas – so beautiful!!
Oh wow. Those red tutus! My niece would love this giveaway-count me in…
great giveaway.
Haven’t been to the ballet for ages. Would love to go!!
upside down tutus just as beautiful :)
Oh how wonderful. What a fabulous dress-up box.
Pretty pretty pretty. Another great giveaway!
oh, that takes me back to that childhood dream most little girls had….what a magical place. xx
really beautiful, and the giveaway is just brilliant!
Just beautiful! Wish I was a dancer!
This giveaway is so very exciting! I have always wanted to go to the ballet, and having just finished reading Mao’s last dancer I now have ballet on the brain! Please, please please pick me!! (The Melbourne season runs over my birthday next year – tix to Madame Butterfly would make my day!)
sooooo lovely :)
Amazing. How wonderful to wear those beautiful costumes! Oh I’d love a tutu!
What great photos capturing the richness and detail, yet the calm behind the flurry of a performance! The giveaway would give me a chance to watch my first ballet in Aus!
I would LOVE to go!
The costumes are breathtaking
and I have never seen the ballet live before!
wonderful-ness!
Wow, Its like another world- we forget that this exists in Australia too!
What an exciting giveaway! The ballet is an entirely magical, exciting and beautiful. *Dreaming of* Madame Butterfly…
love the red tu-tus.
i wanted to be a ballerina.
such a divine giveaway x
Terrific work…! This inspiring look at the creative world of the theatre should warm the hearts of those who enjoy productions in any form.
Loving ‘Kate’s favorite yellow shoes’, great stuff and a spectacular giveaway!
what a wonderful beautiful world….
The colours are exquisite!
It would be lovely to be transported with Madame Butterfly.
amazing amazing amazing! x
adore the kimonos and rich colours
I would be the most favourite aunty in the world if I won this great give away
oooh how wonderful!! The colour, the emotion, the music… Amazing! I have never been to the Ballet before, and would love to be apart of the experience in Adelaide.
This made me feel 6 years old again, buying my first pair of ballet shoes. Thank you for the memories!
This is another great giveaway! Thank you.
Dreams can come true! The ballet, the shoes, the costumes…and a night away. Thankyou!!!
Makes me want to be a ballerina !
A chance for a day of fantasy and memories of my grandmother taking me to the ballet, yes please!
love these photos. Pick me please!!
These behind the scenes images look so beautiful.
Always had a soft spot of a beautiful tutu.
This has inspired me to pull-out my old sapphire blue tutu from under the bed, dust it off and hang it from the ceiling!
these photos are just so beautiful….
Makes me want to be a ballerina, costume designer and set designer all at the same time! gorgeous!
Those layered skirts are beautiful! I would love to go to the Ballet, I am sure I would get that twitch in my leg in the first couple of seconds, indicating that I should be up there with them.
Looking at all the tutus just reminds me of how much I wanted to be a ballerina as a child… So beautiful, so elegant!! Oh, how I love the ballet!!
Gorgeous photos thank you
Me and my 6 year old fairy princess would be in dress-up heaven in this dream world!!!
What a fabulous prize – the only ballet i’ve ever been to was in Budapest, and it was such a magical night. I’d absolutely love to go along, the costume photos took my breath away. I love fabric with a passion, and the amount of work and beautiful detail that goes into making these is inspiring!
tu tu pretty! x
I’ve just been to see the Australian Ballet perform The Nutcracker here in Tokyo! It was magical … not sure if the Japanese totally got all the Aussie humour that was added! x
Stunning, oh how I would love to spend a day behind trawling those aisles. makes my heart dance!
One of the best Operas, cant wait to see it as a ballet. I’m sure it will be just as wonderful. Would love my two daughters to experience it.
Wow, a nice giveaway for anyone who appreciates ballet, and a good gift for a friend who likes ballet, but has never attended a live performance
How heavenly to see behind the scenes of the ballet and something of the creative industry behind the scenes
Great behind the scenes photos… love it!
Love it. Thanks.
Wow what stunning photography of such beautiful costumes, it must be a magical place to work
I have promised myself a tutu for years and haven’t got one yet. I am 48 and I think I feel a midlife crises coming on! The tutu images are beautiful.
I WANT A GIANT TUTU!!! brilliant guest blog xx
So there is such a thing as TuTu Heaven! Awesome!!!!
wow!
i so so hope i win!
really GREAT give-away
thank you!
I’d love to see Madame B in Melbourne! Those tutus are fabulous.
My inner 6-year-old is mesmerized by those tutus.
It’s all so beautiful! I love that blue to pink tutu, that would look amazing when it’s danced in!
My little 4yo got an ‘excellent’ in her very first ballet exam this year, what a way to celebrate with her. She’s a realy prima ballerina, and we both love ballet and these photos.
I think this would be the answer to a lot of girls/women/ladies dreams. And maybe a some guys too. Beautiful imagery.
Fairytale heaven!! I wanna go on a tour of the place! I HEART the ballet plates! Simply gorgeous
I’m in love with these images! Thankyou so much for offering me a chance to win! xxx
OH so dreamy!!! i want to have that collection of costumes… and a troop of ballet dancers to play with… LOL… how wonderful. thankyou for the insight… thanks for the ballet!!!
OOooohh! love the costumes! love ballet!! love the photos!
I was just at “Priscilla Queen of the Desert” in Toronto last week — a fabulous collaboration of Australian performers and designers! After seeing beautiful National Ballet of Canada performances for years, I would absolutely love to see the Australian Ballet. Conveniently I just flew into Sydney and plan to be in the country for at least a few months…
Oh wow. I would love to go fossicking through the archives!
oh my gosh, I love the ballet
And Degas would have had a field day with those stunning colours and materials of the Tutus. So would I actually. A nice big piece of bliss.
How sublime!
Those Madame Butterfly sets are magical – would love to see the production!
Incredible photos!
Beautiful, costumes, beautiful photography. The giant tutus are to die for.
Gorgeous photos! It’s like walking into a divine grown-up fairytale.
thankyou so very much for the amazing glimpse into the world of the Australian Ballet. I have thoroughly enjoyed every bit of it, especially the costume warehouse and the dye room. Oh how i would love to be locked in the warehouse for a weekend, week or perhaps a year. Bliss. thankyou also for the giveaway opportunity.
x
s i g h … the little girl in me has awakened.
How beautiful and evocative is this post.
Now I take my grand daughters to ballet class…
I sit behind a glass door and watch, though I am older now, my heart delights and
remembers.
How absolutely divine. I am enchanted. J x
love love love The Australian Ballet. and loved this post too!
The Ruby Red Tutu’s! Oh. My. Goodness.
Sigh…..
theatre photography is just beautiful.
and ballet is simply sublime.
Oh! that looks like heaven.
thats absolutely amazing
My 8 yr old ballerina has been capivated by this week’s blog!!! It has served to cement her passion for dance……
OMG wow! Those giant tu-tus are incredible!
I love that image of the lady with the feathers standing on the middle of the stage. Just beautiful.
oh, I do so want to be a ballerina when I grow up.
Wonderful!!!!!!! such a dream~
Stunning behind the scene’s shots, thanks for sharing.
In my next life I will be a ballerina. Charmaine
Gorgeous! I would love to take my sis for her b’day.
I love the ballerina plates in the kitchen, so cute!
Loved the behind the scenes costume shots. How magical that place must be.
Fingers crossed!
x
I just want to say that I didn’t comment for the ticket .please don’t pick me. I just like to express my feeling toward this post which I did post this link on my facebook fan page via: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Chitras-Closet/10143912927?ref=ts.
Thank you so much for brightening my day. I am a huge fan of your blog. The Australian Ballet post was inspired me to keep going through my next summer11 collection. Great short..marvelous!! Thanks again..Chitra~
this is the best giveaway YET!
There is seriously nothing more uplifting than looking at photos of tutus and costumes. Reminds me of dress ups as a little girl.
AMAZING! Thank you for taking us behind the scenes. Awesome giveaway too!
Tulle is simply stunning!
Those colours are so vivid and gorgeous as well- so beautiful!
Gorgeous pictures. How fun it must be to trip around in that amazing store house. Wonderful guest blog.
Such a wonderful, magical place. Love the ruby red tutus. The yellow shoes are pretty cute too!
the photos are gorgeous!!
Looks like a truly magical place. Anyone would feel like an imaginative kid again if they were surrounded by ruby red tutus and costumes!
i want to work here!
Those Ruby Red tutus are truly extraordinary.
And what a very generous giveaway.
What a magical space that warehouse is. I used to ride passed the warehouse on the train and wonder what it was like inside. So many colours! So many textures! The photo’s are so beautiful.
I’ve seen the opera, but would love to see the ballet!
The red tutus! Amazement.
Thank you for this little sneak peek into the costume store…it’s so wonderful to see the costumes being stored so lovingly and reused and, I hope one day, in a gallery or museum where they can be enjoyed by generations to come, like the NGA’s wonderful collection of Ballets Russes costumes! Well done!
It wuld be fantastic to be able to see over the costumes. My granddaughters would love it. Do you ever have tours?
What absolutely lovely imagery! Yes please to seeing it in real life!
Oh the colours! The textures! The beautiful fabrics! Gorgeousness!
And looking to the next post… BUTTONS… oh my!!!!
This is amazing! I LOVE costumes and this makes me drool! After seeing the recent ‘Coppelia’ i have been obsessed with wanting to make a classical tutu! Hopefully they teach that in NIDA (hopefully I get in) so I can soon be working in amazing costume houses like this! Still droooling
Hehe I would find it very hard to resist trying on all the costumes :P
Lovely! I love the textures and the photos are very well shot!
So I’m a bit miffed I’ve yet to get any emails regarding winning all of these amazing giveaways. Poor form, Design Files! I will forgive you if you give me tickets to Madame Butterfly and this tote though!
I love tu-tu’s so much!
These photos have inspired me to pull out my old pointe shoes and dance around the house… While no one is looking of course, thanks for the beautiful photos.
Those photos are stunning! It reminds me of looking through old photos of my mother, who was also a beautiful dancer :)
I’ve often wondered what the costume storage area was like.It seemed much roomier than I expected. I’d really like to visit one day. Do you ever need volunteer labour? I’m a keen sewer…and I love costumes.
I feel all young and pretty again – such is the message and elegance of ballet…..dreamy x
It would be awesome to wander through the stores and try the costumes on; every dancers dream … to wear a tutu and just twirl whether there was music or not
Yes, any need for volunteers? What a magical place.
It is so wonderful that we can have access to this sort of behind the scenes info no matter where we are in Australia! This is so interesting for myself and my daughters and makes going to the ballet even more special.
“To dance is to live,
To live is to dance.”
Wooooow – these photos make the spirit soar.
Oh that would be wonderful! Thanks for the giveaway!!
Would love to go! Would be amazing!
It is wonderful to have these “craftsmen” get their recognition for their superb work.
The beautiful costuming always stays with you after a performance.
simply sublime
Love the Tutu’s. So theatrical.
Watching the ballet is like being in a beautiful dream, it’s magical…
Just looking at the costumes transports me to another land full of beautiful dresses and graceful steps. Oh to be a prima ballerina… It’s amazing how beautiful those tutu’s can make you feel. Can’t wait for Madame Butterfly!
What a wonderful week of posts. I have been truly fascinated by each one. Beautiful
beautiful pics, i feel so lucky to have had this sneak peak. i didnt know tutus could make me so happy. thanks you for your fabulous blog xoxo
Wow! If this is a “blog” it’s the first one i’ve seen. How fabulous! It’s Pandora’s Box.
Suddenly I’m remembering Kelvin Coe, … and the music! Thanks so much, would love to visit the warehouse! xx
Great give-away! Would love to see Madame Butterfly as I have never been to the ballet (!!!) and the tote would be super handy for uni!
beautiful costumes.. love the australian ballet
Ohmy, those photos are just adorable.
What a wonderful post!
Please enter me to this contest, I’d love to have the Pavlova bag.
I can’t really afford a ticket to the other side of the world since I’m from Holland…
So the bag would be wonderful!
Please, pretty please can i work there.
Collections to be cherished.
heaven
Oh how I always wanted to be a ballerina ! More so than a princess! Thank you so much for a sneaky peak into their magical world…oh how I would love to go…tutus crossed…
I’ve really enjoyed this guest blog, thanks Kate Scott and thanks Design Files!!!!
Gorgeous! I’d love a couple of tickets for the Adelaide show!
romance, fantasy, drama, violence, extreme sports… ballet has it all. I loved the insider info, and the look at the costume warehouse was sublime. xo
Tutus, what a delight!
Pick me! Pick me! Love it!:-)
lovely
Thanks so much for your behind the scenes glimpse into the costumes of the Australian Ballet!! I am very envious! Well done! Great Blog!!
146, my lucky number :)
If those costumes could talk it would be amazing – the history and stories would be wonderful
A stunning series of photos.
Absolutely fascinating. Thanks for sharing the photos etc. and this blog.
Amazing guest blog! wowee!
Please count me in for the comp and thankyou for a wonderful week of posts.
What I wouldn’t give to go exploring through that woolstore! Beautiful xx
Turely amazing! What i would do if i could have a stroll around!
My Heart SKIPPED A BEAT, when I saw the photo’s of the costume warehouse, they are so beautiful! I am fantasizing about that warehouse being my giant wardrobe full of ruby red tutu’s, yellow dancing shoes and wicker baskets. Love KATIE
I’ve wanted to go to the ballet for so long! Great blogging too, so interesting to see the behind the scenes pics!
Erin
I’ve always loved ballet, but now that my two girls are obsessed with it I find myself seeing it all through the eyes of a child again. These costumes are all SO amazing…they really capture your imagination and make you DREAM….
What a magical place. I could daydream forever looking at all the memories stored there. Planning costumes and designing is an art form also.
oh, first trip to the ballet for me and mine.
fnigers crossed!
I am thinking that perhaps ballet is the new black ;)
A very beautiful post, Monique x
Wow just love all their costumes, simply stunning, great to see these pics from behind the scenes, would love to see first hand!!!
What a wonderful job to dress Australia’s finest dancers. My Aunt made some of those costumes in the 60’s would be great to visit first hand, i have heard many stories.
Will this ever be open to public for viewing???So so so stunning-any jobs going lol
What beautiful images and a fantastic tour behind the scenes! Stunning Tutu’s! Thank you for the blog :)