The Ballets Russes, from inspiration to collection 1/3

A true masterpiece, Tolstoy's novel, which I reread over a year ago, was the trigger for my desire to work around the "Russian" theme. If the story of Anna Karenina is known as the tragedy of a woman, Tolstoy also describes Russian society under the governance of the Tsar and in particular the life of the nobility under the regime of the Tsar of Russia. His fall will be at the origin of the exodus of the Russian nobility and many artists, in particular towards France and will shake up the world of arts and fashion.

This reading was my first little ball. And before rereading the novel, I had seen the very flamboyant (or tiring, depending on your point of view hihihi) film by Joe Wright. Passion for Keira Knightley, passion for the costumes that are just to die for, and for the Chanel jewelry worn by the beautiful Anna-Keira. The film is staged with set effects and short scenes in the style of a play, which is disconcerting and can be tiring. I remembered its beauty, I loved it and it finished feeding my imagination.

But the Slavic theme deserved to be nourished, to rely on more concrete events so that I could develop my work. I followed the course of history and the exodus of the White Russians (nobles and intellectuals driven out of Russia after the fall of Nicholas II) towards France will have had a capital importance and will shine thanks to a dance company, the famous Ballets Russes . Led by Diaghilev, the Ballets Russes will be the place of collaborations between the world of dance and painters, musicians, fashion designers. Coco Chanel will have been costume designer and patron for the company, Picasso and Jean Cocteau will have illustrated booklets and created scenographies for the Ballets Russes.

The artist who left his mark on the company was Léon BAKST.

Born in Belarus and trained at the Beaux Arts in Saint Petersburg , Léon Bakst is a painter, costume designer and decorator whose influence on the Ballets Russes will be fundamental. Diaghilev's main collaborator, he will develop costumes and scenographies that will mark the aesthetics of the performances. His drawings, the aesthetic force of his influences (ancient Greece, fantasized orientalism, Russian myths) and his way of making colors and prints burst will have a major influence on the artists of his time who will multiply their collaborations with him within the Ballets Russes. He will exert this same attraction but also a great influence on the creative universe with the great fashion designers of his time who were his contemporaries such as Paul Poiret, Jeanne Paquin. His influence would be exerted much later on Yves Saint Laurent or even more recently on Karl Lagerfeld who would pay homage to his work through collections freely inspired by the Ballets Russes, Slavic folklore and the artistic movements that would follow. 

A magnificent book retraces the highlights of Léon Bakst's career as well as the links he maintained with the artistic scene. Its subject goes well beyond the Ballets Russes as Bakst was a major figure of his time.

This dive into the Ballets Russes, with up until then works and themes that I was apprehensive about when choosing this subject for the new collection, will however make me discover a new ball of yarn at least as flamboyant: the major involvement of Coco Chanel and the influence of the Russian avant-gardes on fashion.

I'll see you in a future article, to discover in more detail the artistic wonders of this new period!

See you soon!