Video: Style lessons from Maya Plisetskaya: What connected the ballerina with Pierre Cardin and Coco Chanel
2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55
This amazing woman was called not only a legend of ballet, but also an icon of style. The times when Maya Plisetskaya was not allowed to travel abroad because of parents who suffered from repression, she managed to look as if all the outfits were brought to her from French fashion houses. A lot really connected her with the world of fashion: possessing impeccable taste and unique plasticity, the ballerina inspired many designers. She was personally acquainted with Coco Chanel, a Pierre Cardin considered her to be his muse.
Plisetskaya said: "". The ballerina really attached great importance to her appearance. In those days, when it was impossible to buy imported things in a store, she dressed from blacksmiths. The name of one of them - Clara - even went down in history due to the fact that she supplied clothes to Maya Plisetskaya herself.
Clara sold coats, dresses, handbags, underwear and shoes at inflated prices, but Plisetskaya never spared money on this. She agreed to perform in provincial unheated clubs - warmed up the thought that "there will be something for Clarina to buy toilets." Plisetskaya sewed fur coats at the theatrical costume designer. Once her beloved gray astrakhan fur coat worn out, and then wedges from a greatcoat cloth were sewn into it, and a hat was cut out of the same material. The result impressed even the most discerning fashionistas.
In the late 1960s. Plisetskaya appeared on the stage of the Bolshoi Theater in the form of Carmen in a dress that was too short and frank for those times, which caused criticism from the Minister of Culture Ekaterina Furtseva: “” And when one day she appeared on the street wearing a black astrakhan fur coat up to her feet with leather appliqués donated by the artist Nadia Leger, some passer-by recoiled from her with the words: "".
When the ballerina finally received the long-awaited permission to tour abroad, she had the opportunity to meet many famous designers. The closest and most fruitful was her collaboration with Pierre Cardin, with whom she met in 1971. Their communication lasted for 35 years, and the famous fashion designer called the ballerina his muse.
Difficulties arose with the costumes for the ballets The Seagull, Anna Karenina and The Lady with the Dog: the outfits worn by the ladies in the 19th century were too cumbersome for the ballet stage. And Pierre Cardin created costumes for "The Seagull", 1 dress for "Lady with a Dog" and 10 real masterpieces for "Anna Karenina" bustles with lush bows. During the fittings, Cardin took into account all the details: "". However, the Soviet audience did not suspect that Plisetskaya danced in Cardin's outfits: the Ministry of Culture of the USSR forbade the name of a foreign artist to be indicated on the posters among the creators of the play. And this despite the fact that he did not demand payment for his work.
In addition to stage costumes, Pierre Cardin created several everyday and evening dresses for Plisetskaya. After the Iron Curtain fell, the ballerina found a way to thank the great couturier: in 1998, she organized their joint show "Fashion and Dance" in the Kremlin.
The designer Yves Saint Laurent also admired the ballerina's talent and style - it was he who created the translucent pink chiton for the ballet The Death of the Rose, staged for Plisetskaya by the French choreographer Roland Petit. Roy Halston and Jean-Paul Gaultier also designed outfits for the Soviet ballerina. She posed for many fashion photographers and was one of the first Soviet artists to appear for Vogue magazine.
During her foreign tours, Maya Plisetskaya also met Coco Chanel, who at that time was already over 80. Especially for the ballerina, the designer arranged a fashion show, inviting her to demonstrate to fashion models how to walk on the catwalk and wear Chanel clothes. The ballerina walked, after which the couturier invited her to choose any outfit as a gift. It was a white quilted silk sundress and a similar jacket, decorated with blue aiguillettes and gold buttons. Plisetskaya wore it on special occasions.
According to legend, Maya Plisetskaya was the first of all Soviet women to start wearing a white mink coat. She dictated fashion both on stage and in life. Many of her outfits, for example, a wide coat with high boots or an elongated blouse with tight trousers, women of fashion immediately began to imitate.
Coco Chanel was familiar with many of Plisetskaya's compatriots, and with some she had close relationships: 7 Russians in the life of Coco Chanel.
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