Ballerina: Fashion's Modern Muse

The influence of classical ballet

Ballet took its place in the western pantheon of modern high culture during the interwar years of the twentieth century. The ballerina, the form’s most celebrated practitioner, blossomed into a revered figure of beauty and glamour, and her signature costume — the corseted tutu — inspired many of fashion’s leading designers. Ballerina: Fashion’s Modern Muse will illustrate the influence of classical ballet and ballerinas on high fashion from the early 1930s to the late 1970s. It is being organized by Patricia Mears, deputy director of MFIT.