From Chanel to Halston The Mythology of Fashion Costumes on Modernist Stages Rhonda Garelick

Figure 1. Scene from The Blue Train, with “beach exercise” choreography, set by Henri Laurens, costumes by Coco Chanel. (Photo courtesy of the Library of Congress, Music Division)

When recognizable designer fashion (as opposed to “costume”) makes an overt appearance onstage, critics grow uneasy. This is especially true in the case of modernist performance, where commercial fashion seems to risk undermining modernism’s implicit promise of “abstraction” or at the very least, “purity.” While fashion itself can certainly be modernist, the injection of a specific, well-known couturier’s aesthetic — especially the work of a living, working designer — into a modernist play or dance production can seem disruptive or intrusive. It is a disquieting reminder not merely of extrascenic worlds (which can sometimes find their place on the mod- ernist stage) but of an inappropriately crass and commercial one: the realm of department stores and malls, advertising and women’s magazines.

TDR 63:3 (T243) 2019 https://doi.org/10.1162/dram_a_00860 128 ©2019 New York University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Downloaded from http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1162/dram_a_00860 by guest on 28 September 2021 Fashion on Modernist Stages 129 which includes — for which she garnered for which — dance in modernism’s vac- — 1 increased steadily throughout the 1940s, with American with increased steadily throughout the 1940s, Fabulous Harlequin: ORLAN and the Patchwork Self Self ORLAN Harlequin: and the Patchwork Fabulous — (1967) takes fashion extremely seriously as a sign system, it comes no closer to to closer no comes it system, sign a as seriously extremely fashion takes (1967) Mode la de Système

far beyond the dance studio —

accepting its integration into high culture. high into integration its accepting But Macaulay’s modernist dream of frock-less, fashion-less dance is not possible now, if it now, fashion-less dance is not possible But Macaulay’s modernist dream of frock-less, and their popularity as a wardrobe Graham, Leotards in particular were associated with While respect for fashion as an art form grew dramatically in the intervening decades, sim- the intervening decades, as an art form grew dramatically in While respect for fashion gimmicks; it’s also a detour of City Ballet’s many post-Balanchine The fashion gala is one prove To this company a world leader. from the kind of dance theater that has made “Balanchine Black & the company’s very next program [...] is one of its many the point, no smocks; No frocks, scenery. without in which leotards and tights rule, balls, White” (Macaulay 2016) dance and music foremost. of two worlds: serious dance and unserious Macaulay’s argument posits a basic opposition Complaints about fashion onstage date back nearly a century, to the first collaborations first collaborations to the a century, date back nearly about fashion onstage Complaints While Barthes’s 1. While Barthes’s Mademoiselle: Coco Chanel and the Pulse of History (Random Coco Chanel and the Pulse is the author of Mademoiselle: Rhonda Garelick University (Princeton of Modernism Performance Loie Fuller’s Salome: 2014); Electric House, (Princeton de Siècle in the Fin and Performance Gender, Dandyism, 2007); and Rising Star: Press, 1998), and coeditor of Press, University for him even scenery. He craves a simple leotard-and-tights ballet He craves a simple for him even scenery. life or by theatre “civilian” with its taint of quotidian, unspoiled by either fashion, uum tube, (the realm of scenery). for even the minimalist leotard and tights ensemble of Balanchine’s Black and White ever was, ever since It has done so for nearly 80 years, fashion. partakes of the lexicon of popular women’s into the filtering young women’s fashions, the so-called modern-dance look began inspiring A 1938 article in Vogue of Martha Graham. popular imagination via the charismatic personality women were American college and noted that “cultural phenomenon” referred to Graham as a (Kahn 1938:117). “try[ing] to look as much like her as possible” now ­staple incorporating the trend into especially the very dance-oriented Claire McCardell, designers, York in New appears regularly the Signs,” column, “Reading 2010). Her Press, of Nebraska (University Dean She is Yale. PhD and BA from her received and Guggenheim fellow She is a Cut.” ’s “The Magazine of and a fellow University, School Parsons/New History and Design of the School of Art and Theory at @rkgar for the Humanities. Institute York the New review of the 2016 New York City York review of the 2016 New Times In his New York still abound. ilar critical sentiments designers costume works by top gala (a fundraiser for which well-known Ballet’s annual fashion Macaulay made his displeasure plain: Alistair choreographers), is best when devoid of frilly distraction he implies, Dance, fashion costumes. between professional fashion designers and theatre artists. Coco Chanel was the first celebrity was the first celebrity Coco Chanel artists. and theatre fashion designers between professional stage work into collaborative to venture significantly fashion designer Le Train for the Ballets Bleu Chanel costumed Le Train when In 1924, and severe criticism. both praise “Chanel to a mere had been reduced that Nijinska’s choreography reviewer griped one Russes, Thirty art’s sacred territory. encroaching on of a seamstress making clear his disapproval ballet,” - such prejudice: Roland Barthes regis little progress had been made in reducing years later, “[The costumer] must writing, toward noticeable fashion onstage, tered a similar dismissiveness the studied casualness of an the costume, The chic of couturier style. grand [...] abstain from the are disastrous alibis which blur might suppose came straight from Dior [...] antique drapery one (Barthes [1955] 1972:44). the clarity of the argument”

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130 Rhonda Garelick their work. Damien Jalet;KarlLagerfeldand BenjaminMillepied;andespeciallythelongstandingpart- tinue unabated, includingintriguingpairingsofrecentyears such as:HusseinChalayanand from Chanel’sworkfortheBalletsRussesallwaytopresent wherepartnershipscon- tory ofartisticcollaborationsbetweenchoreographyandfashion initsmodernsensestretches of Renaissancecourts, theartsoffinedressanddancehave been intertwined. Andthehis- modities” (Garafola[1989]1998:357). Eversinceballets entertainedthewell-dressedmembers overwhelmingly associatedwithwomen’spopularculture. Both havebecome “prestige com- here ofballet, butsuchsnobberycanalsobefoundinmodern dance, asweshallseelater.) within dance’sdefenses:ballet, shesays, is “clad” As Acocella’s ironicchoiceofwordsremindsus, there issomethingalwaysalreadysartorial No not even opera,art, is more than ballet. clad in snobbery Fashion andDance studio, andspecifically, withGraham: us thattheomnipresenceofblack inmodernfashionalsofindsitsrootsthedance [and] feetflatontheground” (Vogue 1950:93;seealsoStrassel2013). Anne Hollanderreminds Claire McCardellhelpshertoachieve[...with]askimpyjerseyjumperoverleotard frugal, spare, silhouetted American PrimitivelookthatMarthaGrahamhelpstovisualizeand the presenceofwhatIcharacterizebelowas “mythic fashionunconscious.” fashion incostuming, weenhanceandcomplicateourunderstandingofstagework, revealing tion playsinviewers’experience. Furthermore, bycastinglightontheusuallyignoredroleof do thisisafeministact, attributingvaluetowomen’smaterialcultureandtheroleitsrecogni- logue betweenfashion against commodityfetishism. Yet stillmoreisatstakewhenwereconsidertheimportantdia- isolated scriptortext[ordance], butrathertheworkinsituation” (Jameson[1976]1988:188). tions ustodispelthisaura, toresistthelureofsingularpurity: “what isrealpreciselynotthe lends modernistartworkstheauraofbeingentirelyoutsideorbeyondcontext. Jamesoncau- remain underwhatFredricJamesonfamouslycalled “the spelloftheartisticcommodity,” which acter, andpersonality:theworldof “frocks, smocksandscenery.” of Alistair Macaulay’snostalgia, turnsouttobefullysteepedinpopularfashion, theatricalchar from beinganantitheatricalsignifierofpuredance, then, Balanchine’sleotardballet, thefocus Graham’s highlystylizedpersonahelpedimposethislookupongenerationsofwomen. Far dance “purity,” thislookinfiltratedwomen’smaterialcultureviaaspecificpersonality:Martha tard andtights, isinextricablefrommodernfashion. What’s more, furtheradulteratingits 2. Fashion anddancehavesomuchincommon. Bothareembodied artforms, andbothare called a unitard. She also popularized the use of flat, ballet-style slippersfor street wear. McCardell was best known for her dance-inspired full-length, stretchy, one-piece garment, which today would be As Hollandermakesclear, thedancerlook, including sciousness asonestandardmodernwaytodress. (1993:386–87) presentational geniusofMarthaGraham[and]hassincepenetratedthenationalcon- Black [...]laterfocusedontheblackknittednylonleotard[,...]owedmuchtoself-­ [The blackturtleneck...]withtights[,...]a[...]variantdescribableasDancer’s Jameson summonsustoconsidertheconditionsofproductioninanartworkasabulwark The desiretodeprivemodernistdanceofitsfashionassociationsbespeaksthewish 2 In1950, Vogue magazinedescribedthenew, modern American woman’sstyleas “a — both popularandhautecouture — An UneasyPartnership

— it isdressed — — even especially and modernistperformance, forto — in itssnobbery. (Shewrites — on ccla (2007) Acocella —Joan the blackleo- - Fashion on Modernist Stages 131

Acis Acis After After Vogue , España Vogue Indeed, fashion Indeed, 7 in brilliantly colored, colored, brilliantly in 2016). Social media and and media Social 2016). — creating overtly dance- creating overtly the antitheses of dance’s the antitheses of dance’s 4 — — (2007) and (2007) OrfeoEuridice ed (1997); Ma Yo-Yo with Stairs Down Falling For Rousseau, the primary risk posed by luxury was the For Rousseau, Lately, haute couture has reciprocated this interest, this interest, haute couture has reciprocated Lately, 6 3 Brahms-Schönberg Quartet Lagerfeld. costumes the both designed Brahms-Schönberg , declared that combatting luxury was “the most importantmost luxurycombatting that declared , Luxury Discourse against was “the for at least 17 productions, including productions, 17 least at for — For centuries, after all, the luxury of fashion has been viewed in the West West in the the luxury of fashion has been viewed all, after For centuries, 5 . Since then, Mizrahi has dressed Morris’s performers Morris’s dressed has Mizrahi then, . Since Preludes Three Dolce and Gabbana and Viktor & Rolf, for example Rolf, & Viktor Gabbana and Dolce and —

for the American Ballet Theater in 2015; and the full-length danced operas danced full-length the and 2015; in Theater Ballet American the for

After costuming for London’s Sadler’s Wells, Hussein Chalayan was invited by the company’s creative director, director, creative company’s the by invited was Chalayan Hussein Wells, Sadler’s London’s for costuming After to Jalet Damien choreographer Belgian enlisted Chalayan production. dance own his direct to Spalding, Alistair sections 18 featuring 2015, October in premiered which , Fatigue was Gravity result The movement. the create bod- second elasticized resemble that costumes and invisibility,” and displacement, “identity, of themes exploring Lagerfeld2015). historylong a has collabo- but stage, the for costuming Mackrell of see also 2015; (Morby ies for dance of director as 2016, July in production, final choreographer’s the for Millepied, with once just rated work, 1965 Balanchine’s Ballet: Opera Paris the long- the is choreographers and couturiers of pairings occasional these from Distinct 2016). (Piovesan set the and when 1992, to dates which Mizrahi, Isaac designer friend, good his and Morris Mark of collaboration standing costumed Mizrahi But no matter how established this tradition, or how artistically accomplished the results, the the results, artistically accomplished or how this tradition, how established But no matter designs fantastical often You - “per a into society turned which fashions” of inconstancy eternal “the against inveighing activity, patriotic” and 2000). Swenson also see 2007:78; Jennings (in ball” petual skirt, the heel, “The high hindrance: classist impracti- the divisive, a as fashion saw famously Veblen Thorstein civ- all of feature comfort obvious an which is wearer’s the of disregard general the and corset, the bonnet, cable ([1899] chattel” man’s the [...] still is woman the [...that] evidence in items many so are apparel, women’s ilized pur- “The fashion: of scathingly wrote Beauvoir de Simone agreed: feminists Twentieth-century 1961:181–82). to rather but individual independent an as her reveal to not is enslaved is [woman] which to fashions the of pose Susan 1984, in And 1989:529). ([1949] desires” male prey to as her offer to transcendence her from off her cut feminine for fondness nostalgic a admitting fashion, to relationship conflictual own her of wrote Brownmiller (2015) (Lehmann 2016; Steele 2016). Steele 2016; (Lehmann (2015) Galatea and Spring-Summer, 2015 their debuting for backdrop the as Scala La used Gabbana and Dolce 2015, of January In using 2014 Spring for collection couture their opened Rolf & Viktor 2015). (Menkes collection dance-themed 2014). Feiereisen 2014; runwaythe walking dancers ballet (Phelps shoes toe in professional for shoot video photo a by up stirred world brouhaha fashion a by underscored was point This pointe including wear, dance in designer dressed Jenner Kendall model featuring Reveriego, Miguel by filmed España (Vogue skirt,tutu-like a and barre with studio ballet a in posing leotard, shoes, and Jenner by offended deeply felt who lovers and dance dancers of outrage the with exploded press the and critic, Twitter one wrote art” high “such is portray model fashion a could Ballet dancer? a How magazine. and work hard the to justice do not did seemed, it photos, The 2016). McIntosh (in it sullied had photos these criti- the But gangly. and awkward looked Jenner untrained the Admittedly, dancers. real of required discipline Landsbaum (see it to proximity fashion’s with unease deep disproportionate,dance’s was bespoke and response cal 2016). Lasher 2016; example, for 1783, In luxury and fashion of risks moral potential The debate. Enlightenment much fueled his in Lottin, Antoine-Prosper While we might debate the moral implications here, and some theorists deem fashion a great and some the moral implications here, While we might debate he chastises: “Finery is “Finery Arts and Sciences he chastises: on and in Discourse Emile (Rousseau [1762] 1921:306); 3. 7. 4. 5. 6. as a troublesome scourge, a danger, or a frivolity, clouding the mind’s judgment, and constrain- and clouding the mind’s judgment, or a frivolity, a danger, as a troublesome scourge, he warns “Fashion stifles taste,” Rousseau’s admonitions on the subject: Consider ing women. in ([1750] 2014:n.p.). [...] a stranger to virtue” between the two genres. Even now, fashion finds itself struggling at times to maintain its gravi- at times to maintain itself struggling fashion finds now, Even two genres. between the it is too connected with pleasure and indulgence perhaps because tas, rigor and discipline.

coupling of fashion and dance can still provoke disapproval, despite (or because of despite (or still provoke disapproval, fashion and dance can coupling of ) the closeness nership of Isaac Mizrahi and Mark Morris. Isaac Mizrahi and Mark nership of

with designers down the runway. professional dancers and sending themed collections of inciting desire for finery in those who could not afford it, thereby exacerbating inequality. thereby exacerbating inequality. finery in those who could not afford it, of inciting desire for from desire. is no question that fashion is inextricable there equalizing force, Downloaded from http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1162/dram_a_00860 by guest on 28 September 2021 Downloaded from http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1162/dram_a_00860 by guest on28 September 2021

132 Rhonda Garelick look like plates begancirculatinginRenaissanceEurope, theygaverisetoanewdesire:theyearning were infactfashion portraits, foregroundingclothesratherthanindividuals. When thesefashion uals depictedinfashionplateswerelessimportantthanwhattheywearing. Fashionplates dress wornbyfarawaypeopleonecouldneverotherwiseseeorevenknowof. Buttheindivid- invention ofmechanicallyreproducedfashionplatesopenedthepossibilityseeingstyles fashion (asopposedtomeredressortraditionalgarments)thelate15thcentury, whenthe was bornfromdesire:thedesiretolooklikeanimage. Historiansdatetheoriginof Western wear sibility ofsharinginChanel’spersonalglamour, ofenteringintoherpersonalmythology. To character infusedChanel’sfashions, whichseemedtopromisethosewhoboughtthemthepos- wealthy, sexuallyfree, athleticplaygirlknownasCoco. The allureandfrissonofthismodern was basedonaveryparticularcharacterthatChanelhadinventedforherself:anemancipated, own designs, andwhobytheearly1920swasahighlyvisiblecelebrity. That celebrity, moreover, ion magazinesaswellinthecountlessphotographsofChanelherself, whoworeonlyher identify thesegarmentsas “Chanels,” havingseenthemfeaturedinadvertisementsandfash- formers inversionsofheroffstagecouture. Spectators 30 yearsshespentcostumingdance, drama, andfilm, shetendedsimplytodressonstageper As acostumer, Chanelwasfamousfornotdesigningcostumes. Instead, throughoutthenearly Blue TrainThe Fashionthe Mythic Unconscious Chanel, Cocteau, theBalletsRusses, and stock characters, inthetraditionofcommediadell’arte. labels insteadofnames:HandsomeBoy, The Golf Player, The Tennis Player, etc. These are cated librettoinvolvesthehijinksofagrouppleasure-seeking beachgoers, characterswith from ParistotheRivieraandwasafavoriteofartists, royalty, andmoviestars. The uncompli- express ics, satire, andpantomime. The bluetrainofthetitlewasnicknamefamousluxury into performance(muchastheNew York CityBalletdoesnowwithitsFashionGala). and reflectedbacktheculturalcuesofanewleisureclass, weavingmarkersofwealthandluxury labeled “lifestyle modernism” ([1989]1998:108) Train (1924;librettobyJeanCocteau, choreographedbyBronislavaNijinska). additional, extrasceniclayerofunacknowledgednarrative. This isespeciallyclearinTheBlue up portrayingnotonlytheirowncharacters, butsomethingofChanel’saswell, acquiringan 9. 8. Dancers and Paris Fashion the commercial allure of Chanel and her collaboration with the Ballets Russes in For more on thisseemyMademoiselle: CocoChanelandthePulse (Garelick ofHistory Davis discusses 2014).Mary tion, see Elizabeth Wilson, For theoriginsof fashionsystem,itsriseandrelationship toEuropean commerce andtechniquesofreproduc- ([1985] 2003). possibilities of fashion; see has written about the politically liberatory defenders in this regard; see his clothes are not designed to project a serious demeanor” (1984:101). Gilles Lipovetsky is among fashion’s greatest clothes but declaring herself done with dresses: “Serious women have a difficult time with clothes. [...] Feminine Like Cocteau’searlierParade Blue TrainThe illustrateswellthelargeraestheticcontextofwhatLynn Garafolahasaptly By extension, whenperformersworethosehyperidentifiableChanelcostumes, theywound a Chanel(evenoneofthemillionsknock-offs)was, inasense, to “wear Chanel.” — — the Calais-Méditerranée to dresslike —a (2010). Adorned in DreamsAdorned (1985) and Anne Hollander, especially picture. The Empire of Fashion: Dressing DemocracyModern (1917), — 8 inaugurated in1922(inoperationuntil2003), whichran Le TrainBleu wasahybrid, featuringballet, acrobat - — a performanceaestheticthatborrowedfrom — especially women Adorned in Dreams:Adorned Fashion and Modernity Ballets Russes Style: Diaghilev’s (2002). Elizabeth Wilson too Sex and Suits — would instantly (1994). 9 - Fashion on Modernist Stages 133 , 1924. Costumes by Coco Chanel. Chanel. Coco by Costumes 1924. Train, The Blue jumping jacks, pushups, running in pushups, jumping jacks, — scenic real-world elements. While the While the scenic real-world elements. 10 From left: Léon Woizikowsky, Lydia Sokolova, Bronislava Nijinska, and Anton Anton and Nijinska, Bronislava Sokolova, Lydia Woizikowsky, Léon left: From Division) Music Congress, of courtesy Library (Photo the of Dolin. Figure 2. Ballets Russes cast of cast Russes Ballets 2. Figure the outré bad-girl icon of the courts, and something of a flapper the outré bad-girl icon of the courts, — costumes doubled the identity of the stock characters, turning them into characters, costumes doubled the identity of the stock

alongside their more traditional steps. They also inserted movements borrowed from alongside their more traditional steps. thereby adding a third layer of extrascenic celebrity narrative to the production (fig. 3). celebrity narrative to the production (fig. 3). thereby adding a third layer of extrascenic —

— All translations, unless otherwiseunless translations, All own. my are indicated, The sentence is revealing. Diaghilev was harnessing real-world physical movements to entice Diaghilev was The sentence is revealing. wrote the critic for The Dancing “I cannot call it dancing,” Some critics were troubled. Chanel’s costumes repro- Chanel’s costumes of extra­ The choreography reinforced this motif audience members into bodily identification with the performance, inviting them to project audience members into bodily identification with the performance, This is precisely how fashion indulge in mimetic desire. and themselves into the onstage vision, works as well. parade [...of] “an elaborate mannequin ; and The New Statesman complained that it was Times duced exactly the designs she duced exactly using famous for, was already and sports her own beachwear altered for the outfits (minimally It was the first rigors of dance). danc- time that Ballets Russes in what ers appeared onstage amounted to street clothes wore The “bathers” (fig. 2). fit- ted striped jersey swimsuits and (popularized by Chanel France), worn by thousands in Chanel- along with trademark and style faux pearl earrings Player The Tennis bathing caps. wore a (danced by Nijinska) long-skirted two-piece, white, man- white, outfit with a thin, and a white head wrap nish tie, that reproduced Chanel’s typ- Nijinska even ical sportswear. bobbed her hair like Chanel’s. While conjuring the Coco an overt re-creation of the outfit made famous by tennis sen- this costume was also character, sation Suzanne Lenglen too also reproduced but again, English country tweeds, The Golf Player wore recognizable Chanel outfit (plus-fours and a Shetland sweater) nearly exactly an iconic and much-photographed In other a noted golf aficionado and friend of Chanel’s. Wales, Prince of worn by Edward, the fashion-­ words, simulacra of society-page celebrities. 10. classically trained Nijinska wished, she said, to create “a pure dance form,” Cocteau and “a pure dance form,” to create she said, classically trained Nijinska wished, calisthenics Diaghilev insisted that the dancers perform place form fin-de-siècle Parisian dance the dramatic, , notably steps taken from apache popular dance, enhanced recognizable movement elements These nonclassical, that resembled a street fight. As Diaghilev performers and audience members. the intended connection being made between was presented for the first time in Paris, Bleu “when Le Train explained in the program notes: [...] and perform Train everybody was unaccountably seized with the desire to take the Blue refreshing exercises (Diaghilev 1924). Downloaded from http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1162/dram_a_00860 by guest on 28 September 2021 Downloaded from http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1162/dram_a_00860 by guest on28 September 2021

134 Rhonda Garelick poet H.D. knew: “Mythology isactuality” (inFranko2012:118). 11. inserted anotherlayerofmythic figure:afashiongoddessforthemixed-erapantheon. peek. Chanel’sfashions, withtheirconcomitant additionofherwell-knowniconicpersonality, century performance was lessamuseumpiecetobepreservedthankindofLego set withwhichtobuildnew20th- mythological charactersweseeinthegroup’sneo-Hellenistproductions, whereancientGreece reimagining mythology.Blue Train The ’s stockcharactersareinfactanalogoustotheGreek Chanel’s disruptionisinkeepingwithBalletsRusses’(andits circle’s)overarchingprojectof The MythologyofCouture of Bibliothèque(Photo courtesy Nationale de France) inspired Chanel’s costume for The Tennis Player in Figure 3. Outfit made famous by tennis sensation Suzanne Lenglen more precisely, extra-­ collage techniqueforwhichmodernism graphical narrativescreatedanarrestingdisruption, aversion ofthemultipleperspectivesand “Coco Chanel is a strange goddess,” wrote Maurice Sachs (1939:123). — scenic a malleablesettingthroughwhichtheouterworldwouldcontinually — stylized worldofChanel. This blendingoftheatricaland bio- — and cubisminparticular The Blue The Train. outward into the “real” the into outward tional realmofthelibrettoand expanding thembeyondthefic- enriched theonstagecharacters, a distraction. Chanel’scostumes must beviewedasfarmorethan iconic personaintothisballet purists, theinfusionofChanel’s And whilethisannoyedsome Blue Trainperformance ofThe . “Coco” of culturalassociationsknownas nimbus persona —this celebrity own setofconnotations. This able personathatcamewithits icon inherownright, aknow- ity asadesigner, butalsoasan Chanel, notjustinhercapac- ­fashion-costumes conjuredCoco and perhapsmostclearly, the the societycolumns. Butalso, celebrity, andtheroyalsof lar culture:therealmsofsports, evoked somanylayersofpopu- costumes, whichthemselves provided bythefashion-­ disruption analogoustothat ture, createdanextra­ phy, filchedfrompopularcul- (in Garafola1990:40). it simplyasthe “flapper” ballet 1986:99–100). Othersreferredto House ofChanel” (inRies ­fashionable costumesbythe The nonclassicalchoreogra- — were known.

— infused itselfintothe scenic —or 11 As the As Fashion on Modernist Stages 135 , 1925. Costumes by by Costumes 1925. , Flore et Zephyre , 1924 (with (with 1924 , Biches Les (2011:337ff.). Angels Apollo’s Figure 4. Ballets Russes production of production Russes Ballets 4. Figure of courtesy Library (Photo the Chanel. of Coco by revised Braque, Georges Division) Music Congress, Figure 5. Bronislava Nijinska in Nijinska Bronislava 5. Figure courtesy (Photo holder). of cigarette and pearls Chanel-inspired France) de Nationale Bibliothèque

— 12 , Apollon Musagète

Jennifer Homans discusses Chanel’s work with the Ballets Russes in Russes Ballets the with work Chanel’s discusses Homans Jennifer Into the onstage narrative Into the onstage , he trusted that the prestige and , When Cocteau asked Chanel to costume his 1922 Antigone world of each production she world of each for Cocteau and the costumed Chanel would Ballets Russes, her own highly rec- again drop We stock character. ognizable (1925), et Flore see this in Zephyre for which Chanel translated Georges anaphoric designs by chic style Braque into her own in her We see it again 4). (fig. of work on the 1929 recreation for André Bauchant’s costumes Balanchine’s Muses in in which she put the men’s knit tunics cinched with even see We Charvet neckties. it the 1924 production of Les cos- whose flapper-style , Biches tumes — although designed by likely in con- Marie Laurencin, sultation with tele- Chanel — with their “Coco” graphed oversize faux pearls and a ciga- 5). rette holder (fig. 12. impose, models or types with which the individual, a city, or even an entire people can conceive of a city, individual, models or types with which the impose, whose So too is fashion, (1991:35). of identification” Myth is an instrument itself or identify itself. calling out for the imagined projection of self. brand of identification is especially corporeal, “I cannot imagine the renown of her costumes would translate onstage as Sophoclean majesty: Mee would have Playwright Charles Cocteau explained. daughters of Oedipus badly dressed,” The onstage relationship between recognizable fashion- world costumes and equally recognizable stock charac- ter types takes on still greater richness in the case of neo-­ The grand figures Hellenism. of mythology were as instantly knowable as fashion icons (like Chanel) or a Riviera playboy and just as liable to provoke strong audience identification. As Philippe Lacoue-Labarthe if not to “Myth is [...] a fiction whose role is to propose, and Jean-Luc Nancy have written, Chanel among Chanel among the Ancients Downloaded from http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1162/dram_a_00860 by guest on 28 September 2021 Downloaded from http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1162/dram_a_00860 by guest on28 September 2021

136 Rhonda Garelick characteristics associatedwithAntigone . well-known connectiontotheBritishroyalfamilyaswellsomeexiledRomanovs) stage, conveyedhistoricaldepth, gravitas, andeventheauraofroyalty(thanksinparttoher the statureofmyth,” aprocessChanelhadlongbeenperfecting. Herdesigns, bothon-and off- critic forFrenchVogue (Vogue 1923:28–29). BecomingGreek, inthiscontext, meant “rising to rediscovered aftercenturies[...]ChanelhasbecomeGreekwhileremainingChanel,” wrotethe praised virtual copiesofher1922wintercollection, provedawildsuccess(figs. 6&7). Reviewerseven ury goods theatrical andculturalgrandeurtotheGreekstoriesthatbearscomparisonwithhigh-endlux- Royce” (inFoley1999:5). The analogyisapt:thereanall-encompassingsumptuousness, a understood. “[G]etting intoaGreekplot,” Meetoldaninterviewer, “is likesteppingintoaRolls 14. 13. to confronttheSisypheannatureofquest. of thelatestfashion, ladernière mode, thanitrecedes, tauntingourmortalslowness, leavingus youth andbeauty, fashiongivesoffawhiffofthe tomb. Nosoonerdoweseemwithinreach of thenew, thetimely, the “now.” Becauseofthis frenzied, hopelessquest, despiteitspatinaof ion’s vexedrelationshiptotemporality, itsconstantmetamorphosis, anditsincessantpursuit That fashionanddeatharedeeplyconnectedbecomesinstantly clearwhenweconsiderfash- Time, Death, Space, andDancing Bodies innocuous exterior out fromthestagetoengageaudiences, drawingtheminwithamisleadinglyattractiveand and Nancy. Chanel’sstrikinglyrecognizablesignaturestyleandrelatedstockcharacterreach contributed bytheChanelcostume, thatpowerofidentificationdescribedbyLacoue-Labarthe couture ratherthan, say, anoff-the-rackhoodedrobe. high society(“socialite”);(2)Deathisawoman(again, socialite);and(3)Deathwearshigh-end depiction. This debasementassumesthreecomponents:(1)Deathpartakesofthebanalities name, heemphasizesthedisjunctionbetweenamajesticcharacterofmythanditsdebased the play. Levinson’schoiceoftheGreekappellationisrevealing. ByinvokingDeath’sGreek death itself Chanel” (1926:594). Levinson tocomplainthat “Cocteau hadsupplanted Thanatos withasocialitedressedbyMlle character ofDeath, playedbyawoman, woreapinkChanelballgown, promptingcritic André protagonists woretweedsandgolfsweaterspluckedfromChanel’sEnglishcountryline. The haute couture. some proximityofdeath, whichlurksjustbeneaththesurfaceofyouth, beauty, andespecially as afashionablewomaninpink. Suchacharactercanonlyremindtheaudienceoffear vibrant, thegarment material. Yet, ofcourse, thegarmentwill inevitablyoutliveitswearer. And so, nomatterhow mythic quality. Cocteau’s instinctsprovedcorrect. Chanel’scostumes, whichcamestraightofftherunway, veau avant même de le produire,” wrote Barthes (1967:288–89). “L’aujourd’hui de la Mode autour de lui, dément le passé [...] censure [...] détruit l’avenir [...] apprivoise le nou- For more on the relationship between Chanel couture and Greek mythology, see Garelick (2014:164 Yet Levinsonoverlooksthespecificallymythicpowerofthatadditionallayernarrative Fashion anditsbedfellow, society, havehereagaintrivializedaweightysubject, inthiscase Chanel’s workwasemployedtosimilareffectinCocteau’s1926dramaOrpheus. Here, the Without thebodytoanimateit, toinfuseitwithlife, anygarmentissimplyfabric, dead Antigone’s costumesfortheirhistoricauthenticity: “[These resemble]ancientclothes — — expensive cars, hautecouture. or Thanatos, asLevinsoncallsthecharacter, althoughsheissimply “La Mort” in — — just asDeathmight. Deathisrenderedfarmoreinsidiousdisguised pink ballgownorblackrobe 13 14 Hereagain, weseeclearlyfashion’stragically — is themementomoriofitswearer, fused –79). — all - Fashion on Modernist Stages 137 what — movement of Figure 7. December 1922 advertisement for Chanel advertisement1922 Chanel for December 7. Figure courtesy (Photo coat. winter weave jacquard France) de nationale Bibliothèque is unceasingly staged in fashion” ([2004] 2005:27). ([2004] 2005:27). is unceasingly staged in fashion” —

We can see this agon or oscillation characterologically in Chanel’s fashion costumes, which in Chanel’s fashion costumes, can see this agon or oscillation characterologically We Stephen Kern has called the “materialization of space” (1983:162). of space” “materialization Stephen Kern has called the interweave her own extrascenic, mythological character with the Greek ones. Such oscilla- mythological character with the Greek ones. interweave her own extrascenic, layers an awareness in the viewer of a space or separation among tion opens up an implicit rift, by mod- can find analogies to this in techniques used We of reference in these productions. of one object from multiple perspectives (as in among these the depiction ernist visual artists, or even the deliberate emphasis on the materiality collage, the work of Marinetti or Picasso), say, for example (as practiced, or paint thickness, the foregrounding of brushstroke of surface, Any technique that shatters the illusion of a transparent window of representa- Van Gogh). by an interiority tion pries open a space and therefore conveys a sense of in-between-ness, Martha Graham and Fashion Bodies, Space, Myth, I have been Such materialization of space remains referential and implicit in the neo-Hellenism approached space and interiority far though, American modern dance, examining here thus far. of interiority: interior feeling guiding the ­ “an expression staging more directly, with him or her in a performance of the agon between life and death. Benjamin knew this: Benjamin between life and death. with him or her in a performance of the agon world and represents the rights of the corpse” “Fashion prostitutes the body to the inorganic “the oscillation between the ani- writes, Vinken Or as fashion theorist Barbara ([1982] 2002:82). mate and the inanimate Figure 6. Antigone (actress Genica Athanasiou, on on Athanasiou, Genica (actress Antigone 6. Figure designed costume cloak weave jacquard in right) the Cocteau, Jean by production the for Chanel Coco by courtesy (Photo 1922. Bibliothèque December France) de nationale Downloaded from http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1162/dram_a_00860 by guest on 28 September 2021 Downloaded from http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1162/dram_a_00860 by guest on28 September 2021 138 Rhonda Garelick Public Library for the Performing Arts) 1989. (Photo by Swope Martha © Billy Rose Theatre Division, The New York Figure 8. Martha GrahamMartha Dance Company, the garment ,Memory andtherearemomentsinherworkwhenthatstatement’sinversefeelsequallytrue: parts orevenanotherperson. rialized space, echoingdancers’movementsandmotifs, seemingsometimeslikeactualbody with Noguchiascollaborator)workedextensionsofGraham’slayerednarratives. They mate- haunting, sculpturalsetdesignscreatedforherbyIsamuNoguchi, thecostumes(sometimes McGehee orEdytheGilfond), hadahighlyorganicrelationshiptoherchoreography. Likethe meanings intoGraham’sdancedmythicspace. found mythicnarrative. Sometimes, fashionfiguredinthismyth, occupyingandinfusingits (Graham [1959]1991:26). Inotherwords, shelookedinsidethehumanbodyandmind things Idoareineverywoman,” shesaid. “Every womanisMedea. EverywomanisJocasta” landscapes intoherdancedexpressionsofpsychologicalandbodilyinteriorspace. “All the ancient Greece, Native America, andthe American Southwest Winter (in Tracy 1997:116). Then, whenGrahamturnedtoliteratureand­ particular emphasison “revealing theinteriorlandscape,” inwordsofGrahamdancerEthel the bodyintoexternalforms” (Dempster1998:224). MarthaGraham’schoreographyplaced Melissa Marrawrites, the costume “essentially servedasherpartnerindance” (2014:253). at timesnearlyengulfedherentirely Graham woreavastdeepredskirt whoseendsshecouldmanipulateintoenormousshapesthat popular fashionconsciousness back intolaterperformancesofLamentation. that Grahamlaterpopularizedasaneverydayfashionstaplefor youngwomen, thusfoldingthe tainer. straining insideanother)anddeath, whenthespiritstrains toescapeitsfleshly, materialcon- www.youtube.com/watch?v=I-lcFwPJUXQ [MarthaGrahamDanceCompany2016]). Here, an early, verypureexampleofthisinGraham’slandmark1930workLamentation(fig. 8;see “The bodyisasacredgarment,” Grahamfamouslywroteinherautobiography, Blood Graham’s costumes, whichfordecadesshedesignedherself(sometimeswithHelen Another versionofthedoubled-fabric-body appearsinthe1935ImperialGesture inwhich Lamentation physicalizesgriefthroughcostume. Itwouldbethistype ofstretchyjersey — the costume Lamentation with Joyce Herring, — becomes asacredbody, asecondself([1959]1991:7). We see — recalling thesculpturalveilcostumes ofLoieFuller. As — childbirth (onebodyseemingly ric managedtoevokeatonce ing beneaththestretchingfab- fabric-body. The bodystrain- the materializedspaceof and existingbrieflywithin it and thelimbsmovingbeneath combination ofstretchedfabric metric shapesdelineatedbythe series ofthree-dimensional, geo- “inside-ness” of confronted withadepiction To watchLamentationistobe and McCormick2003:148]). of possession” [inReynolds Lamentation oneofher “dances ond skinoffabric. (Shecalled ical self-writhingbeneathasec- a bodywithinbody;biolog- allowed hertopresentherselfas tubular costumeofelasticjersey Graham’s famous, all-encasing she layeredthose­ — the shapesallarisingfrom mythology ih fluid a —with narrative — of Fashion on Modernist Stages 139

17

–05). a theatrical —

which is true —

15 of the fact that the husband is also the that the husband is also of the fact — 16 Jocasta’s body (see http://www.youtube.com/watch?v [1958], for example), offering multiple perspectives on the dramatic for example), [1958], , the design also reproduces graphically the small weaving steps the protagonist, something of of something protagonist, the steps weaving small the graphically reproduces also design the , embrace at 0:01:19 [TamandaChanell 2008]). embrace at 0:01:19 [TamandaChanell Maze a “self-presentational genius,” to use Anne Hollander’s term (1993:386). Anne Hollander’s term (1993:386). to use “self-presentational genius,” a —

(1947) Jocasta wears a long, sweeping skirt and a floor-length, panel-style floor-length, sweeping skirt and a wears a long, (1947) Jocasta Night Journey

“The fabric swirls in their wake, its after flow sometimes offering a counterstatement to the movement” (Jowitt (Jowitt movement” to the a counterstatement offering sometimes flow after its wake, their in swirls fabric “The In 1988:227). labyrinth. the into thread snaking the follows she as takes Theseus, female a this on drawn has Move Artist (2001:9). Richard “ghosting” Marvin that phenomenon the is This calls Carlson performances “Martha@” his for space metaphoric (1997–present). Marcia Siegel points out that Oedipus also manipulates his cape into the equivalent of a female orifice to be pen- be to orifice female a of equivalent the into cape his manipulates also Oedipus that out points Siegel Marcia (1979:204 limb” phallic a drives newhe which into newa opens cape the of form vessel “Every etrated: In Necessarily, this “Martha” character layered itself into the mythological narratives, much layered itself into the mythological narratives, character “Martha” this Necessarily, Sometimes, the external embellishment of a costume serves as a graphic, nearly handwrit- as a graphic, embellishment of a costume serves the external Sometimes, shawl, flung backward over her shoulders. In her flashback, Jocasta enacts her lovemaking with enacts her lovemaking Jocasta her flashback, In her shoulders. backward over flung shawl, she between her legs as which she holds him in posture, with an ambiguous beginning Oedipus, both and shawl envelope her skirt this position, In straddling him. once cradling and at kneels, morphing into skirt and trailing shawl her large bodies for several moments, their lower physical bond of their catastrophic a visual reminder son once carried, enveloped literally by enveloped son once carried, 16. 17. 15. stock character, splitting open a metaphoric space between the overt character (the fictional one splitting open stock character, persona). “Martha” character (her underlying within the production) and the unacknowledged In these and other Graham so-called Greek ballets, she employed her mythological hero- she employed her mythological ballets, In these and other Graham so-called Greek merging her explorations of bodily depth with the depic- ines as avatars of female psychology, meditations on the body and mind’s interior landscapes Her tions of atavistic sorrow and joy. whose stories she often altered or reimag- iconic characters, were enacted via these well-known, a kind of Graham was herself an iconic character, But by the 1940s, ined for her own purposes. clothes, makeup, known instantly by her distinctive hair, mythological goddess in her own right, and bearing Graham as Myth Graham Whatever in Chanel’s couture and costuming work. persona figured “Coco” the way the iconic “Martha” playing always, she was also, ancient queen Graham incarnated onstage, Graham Costumes and Embellishment Graham Bertram Ross recalled dancer were never decorative,” “[Graham’s] costumes =fFNsKeMbW20, =fFNsKeMbW20, only if we understand “decorative” to mean “superficially attractive” (in Franko 2012:68). In (in Franko 2012:68). “superficially attractive” to mean “decorative” only if we understand projected meaning. and their visual motifs her costumes, Graham did decorate fact, bodily movement into a calli- as if Graham wished to translate ten echo of the choreography, into the Maze (1947, ) and Errand based on Medea of the Heart (1946, both Cave In graphic sketch. the heroines’ costumes are adorned with an for example, based on the legend of the Minotaur), of Graham’s calling to mind one down the torso, undulating black tendril design that spirals when Then, the spine. in which the torso twists around “spiral,” the foundational movements, the costumes’ volumi- “pitch turns,” signature animated by the wheeling about of Graham’s and outward literalizing the inward designs in motion, nous skirts billow out and set their spiral 9; see www.youtube.com/ the motion on the air (fig. writing movements of the dancer’s body, 2010]). watch?v=ieMO1Z0UhGQ [saturnvideo7 Such splitting was only intensified on the occasions when Graham split a single character tem- Such splitting was only intensified on the in Night Journey creating flashback scenes of a character’s past (as she does with Jocasta porally, and with Clytemnestra Downloaded from http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1162/dram_a_00860 by guest on 28 September 2021 Downloaded from http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1162/dram_a_00860 by guest on28 September 2021

140 Rhonda Garelick eU&list=PLZn1uRheMfirXfkRKUe9uLqBUUBN6X-Tg [tradeny2008]). privilege ­evening-length ballet), sheeventurned Agamemnon’s flaringroyalcape ally echobodilyhollowingandthesculptingofnegativespace. InClytemnestra (Graham’sonly ing extralayersofoffstagereferences, orbycreatingliteral “second skins” toshowcaseandvisu- a grievingmotherandvengefulwife. 18. for the Performing Arts) Theatre© Billy Rose Division, The New York Public Library Errand into the Maze, 1980. Figure 9. maturgy than myth as story within one person” (1985:169–70). Mark Franko has touched on this issue: “More significant to Graham’s dra - As Edward overwhelms SaidOedipus is the burden points out, “What of plural identities incapable of coexisting Martha GrahamMartha Dance Company, Elisa Monte in — into adistinctlyvaginal-shapedportal(seewww.youtube.com/watch?v=gDomK8rc3 — (Photo by Swope Martha mythos — was the peculiar relation of mythic experience to spatiality” (2012:121). 18 Inallthese, costumeandfashionplayarolebyinject-

ural murderess;Clytemnestra, both helplessvictimandunnat- son andhusbandtoher;Medea mother andwife;Oedipus, both one character:Jocastaisboth of twoirreconcilablesidesto sible double-ness:thetragedy often recountastoryofimpos- level ofplot, Greekmythsso ­hollowed-out forms. At the genres ofsplitidentitiesand standing ofthesedifferent level thatexpandsourunder Greek ballets, thereisanother Horosko 1991:82–83). and the “pores oftheirskin” (in even the “holes intheirbones,” to imaginemovementthrough ize HenryMooresculpturesand instructing herdancerstovisual- Kimura recalledGraham her movementsprang. Yuriko pelvis fromwhichsomuchof falling visibly, thevaginaand tures, theribcagesrisingand ized, hollowed-palmhandges- contraction, thespirals, herstyl- to: thehollowscarvedoutby choreo­ female interiorspacesthather ical, bodilyspace mise-en-scène ofliteral, phys- startling analogyinGraham’s spatialization, moreover, finda older women. ing motivationsasyoungerand action andtheheroines’shift- When approachingGraham’s The narrativefissureandthe graphy createsorrefers — symbol ofphallic — the deeply - Fashion on Modernist Stages 141 el - (1975); But when 19 (1982); and Rite of Dances of the Golden Hall Figure 10. Halston and Bianca Jagger (in a Halston evening dress), dress), evening Halston a (in Jagger Bianca and Halston 10. Figure Scull/PHOTOlink/MediaPunch) Adam by (Photo 1977. (1978); Episodes (1980); (1978); Clytemnestra The Owl and the Pussycat — whom Andromache’s Lament (1982); Andromache’s especially — on (1940).

profile women — known

Halston was often photo- , Halston, like Halston, , of Clytemnestra costumes for a television production By 1979 when he revised Penitente Penitente Consider, for example, the brilliant “cage” of sticks, designed by Noguchi, worn over the protagonist’s head in head protagonist’s the over worn Noguchi, by designed sticks, of “cage” brilliant the example, for Consider, he dressed and squired around These included City. New York Jacqueline Onassis (whom he’d also dressed when she Bianca Jagger was First Lady), and Liza Minelli, 10), (fig. Marisa Berenson. Andy graphed in the company of Warhol and — ­ In the dance floor at Studio 54. Halston possessed other words, his own popular culture mythic He seemed to inhabit a stature. a dec- celebrity Mount Olympus, and drugs, adent world of sex, His fashions conjured this disco. Halston eve- particular world. ning wear was designed for dance-floor goddesses — clinging strips or tubes of silk jersey or in neon or metallic shades, lamé, often wrapped around the torso and neck to expose a bare mid- Sometimes, riff or shoulders. Spring (1984). Something of a dandy, visibility. icon of enormous cultural reach and was a celebrity Graham, instantly he had constructed an him- recognizable look for sweep with his trademark self, And like of hair and cigarette. he enjoyed a cult fol- Graham, a group of lowing: in his case, high-­ as the “Halstonettes” arthritis limited her dexterity, she invited Halston to work with her. (Calvin Klein and Donna (Calvin Klein and with her. she invited Halston to work arthritis limited her dexterity, costumes for Lucifer Among his contributions were a few works.) Karan also costumed Letter (1975); The Scarlet Acts of Light (1981); 19. Graham developed a strong and influential relationship with fashion early in her career, and for in her career, with fashion early influential relationship a strong and Graham developed and a keen under aesthetic sense both a rigorous costume designs demonstrated decades her until the late 1970s, Up persona. glamorous own iconic, how to showcase her standing of closely with (although collaborating of her costumes largely the sole designer Graham was qualities). stage props that often had costume-like Noguchi on many brilliant Halston Halston Downloaded from http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1162/dram_a_00860 by guest on 28 September 2021 Downloaded from http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1162/dram_a_00860 by guest on28 September 2021

142 Rhonda Garelick tion ondancerMario Delamo’sbuttocks. he toppeditwith aprovocativeglitteringthong belt, whichclearlyframed andfocusedatten- go-go boots. And while HalstonkepttheelastictubecostumewornbyMessenger ofDeath, purple fabriccrisscrossedhisbare chest. The soldiersworeglitteringshorttunics andgold into flashysilverplatforms. Aegisthusworeagoldenloinclothabovewhichslashes of ­ by theghostof wornbytragicheroes) Agamemnon in Hades(aversionoftheclassicalcothurni added metallicflourishes, exposed evenmore(male)flesh, andturnedthestone-like shoesworn he turnedupthedramaticheatconsiderably chest sashesvaguelyconnotingroyalstatus). When Halston revisitedthesecostumesin1979 Orestes worelittlemorethandancebriefs(someofwhichstretched uptotheunderarmsand ?v=iqYD5yazkxc&list=PL627528461C7040DE&index=2 [tadejny 2009]).and Agamemnon elastic, skirt-likegarmentrecallingLamentation’sfamouscostume(see www.youtube.com/watch with hissomber, writhingsolo, wasbare-chestedandworeonlyatightpurplejerseysarong, an wear anyclothes” (in Tracy 1997:239;fig. 12). The MessengerofDeath, whoopensClytemnestra the menwereequivalentofmaleBarbiedolls,” complainedPaul Taylor. “[We] nevergotto for Grahamthough, themostrevealingcostumeswere reservedforthemen. “With Martha, bandeau bratopandlow-slungskirtensemblethatshowcased herbreastsandtorso. As usual and Electraworelongjerseydressesinjeweltones, whileHelen paradedherfatalbeautyina opened toafullskirtthatflaredintotriangularfunnelduringallturnsandleglifts. Cassandra consisted ofafloor-length blackdresswithgold­ (Photo © The Museum at FIT) Figure 11. Halston silk evening dresses, 1979.

— especially forthemen. Heintensifiedthecolors, embellishment. Fittedinthebodice, thedress Clytemnestra’s primarycostume been amonghermostdramatic. tumes forClytemnestra had version oftheOresteia . he wouldinsertintoGraham’s mythic fashionunconsciousthat ety. This wasthenatureof tain stratumofNew York soci- vogue fordisco, andacer self, evokingstyle, fame, the known figurethanGrahamher Halston waslikelyabetter- televised GrahamClytemnestra, when hecostumedthenationally in America. And so, in1979, sold ineverydepartmentstore undergarments —products and ing luggage, bedlinens, perfume, a worldofmerchandise, includ- designers tolicensehisname wear. Hewasamongthefirst beyond coutureandready-to- Gross 1980:160). as EugeniaSheppardwrote(in “a dancer’sexerciseuniform,” fitted bodysuitsthatresembled as whenheintroducedform-­ be feltinhisdaywearaswell, (fig. 11). Adanceinfluencecan them adistinctlyGrecianfeel he drapedhisdressestolend Graham’s originalcos- Halston’s fameextended elastic - - Fashion on Modernist Stages 143 - Clytemnestra, Martha Graham and Paul Taylor in a scene from from scene a in Taylor Paul and MarthaGraham in a kind of disco jumpsuit, with spread white col- in a kind of disco jumpsuit, — (Photo by Martha Swope © Billy Rose Theatre Division, The New York York New The Division, Theatre Rose Billy © Martha Swope by (Photo Figure 12. Figure 1961. Arts) Performing the for Library Public - again, Nureyev again, - - —

. He put the men Lucifer.

Halston designed similar Halston pared down Halston pared Not everyone agreed. Of Graham’s Halston years, Agnes DeMille wrote, “The costumes Agnes DeMille wrote, years, Of Graham’s Halston Not everyone agreed. that DeMille makes explicit In these remarks we hear once again antifashion snobbery. (1981) in white, floor-length sarongs; he dressed the Reverend Dimmesdale of sarongs; he dressed the Reverend Dimmesdale floor-length Acts of Light (1981) in white, of Letter (1975) The Scarlet ple. Accessories were magnified ple. Halston’s ver and tarted up. sion of Clytemnestra’s signa- ture headpiece is far larger than and its locked her earlier ones, golden horns look a lot like the Big, ­double-C Chanel logo. shiny gold leg bands and brace- lets snake and spiral over the dancers’ limbs. costumes for Graham’s com- He put Rudolph pany for years. Nureyev in a gold mesh dance belt adorned with rubies for the 1975 Graham’s already spare dance Graham’s essen- men into, briefs for the for Except thongs. dance tially, none of the male Agamemnon, had a cov- dancers’ derrieres ’s ering (fig. 13). Clytemnestra largely female characters were fea- their costumes covered up, more saturated turing deeper, - colors and metallic embel jer Their long lishments. much like sey gowns look very col- Halston’s disco evening And as a lection of that era. Clytemnestra ghost in Hades, pur now wore shimmering lar and cuffs, adorned with a large curved silver belt buckle reminiscent of the jewelry he was adorned with a large curved silver belt buckle reminiscent of the jewelry lar and cuffs, Graham (Nureyev wound up looking a lot like Halston.) designing at the time for Elsa Peretti. it costume, “When one of my dancers goes onstage in a Halston loved Halston’s contributions: adds to the integrity of the movement [...He] helped my and inside and out, is beautifully made, ([1959] 1991:289). image of myself to fulfill” and gave me a new company to go on, window is smart Avenue smart the way a Saks Fifth They were grew bolder and more glitzy [...] became a [...T]he restrained decencies of the old costumes [those designed by Graham herself] (1991:414). memory of her youth [...] His thumb mark was [...] on every [Graham] production” former Graham dancer and the com- echoed Janet Eilber, “spectacle and glitz,” Halston added 2010:33). her disapproval clear (in Malnig et al. pany’s current artistic director, many to be Halston’s costumes smacked of commerce and shopping (the world considered by which she contrasts windows, Avenue of Saks Fifth the province of women’s material culture), nearly But Graham was commercial “restraint.” and “decency” with Graham’s presumed earlier turned herself into a commercially viable iconic per She had deliberately from the beginning. really been Graham had never In fact, women’s fashions. “civilian” sonality; she had influenced Downloaded from http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1162/dram_a_00860 by guest on 28 September 2021 Downloaded from http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1162/dram_a_00860 by guest on28 September 2021 Library for the Performing Arts) (Photo by Swope Martha © Billy Rose Theatre Division, The New York Public the televised production of Graham’s Figure 13. Yuriko Kimura as Clytemnestra and Tim Wengard as Agamemnon in 144 Rhonda Garelick yes, feminist expression. mistaken questforpurity, avastanddensenetworkofbodily, historical, literary, artistic from fashion’sdeepandcomplex participationindance. To dosoistoriskoverlooking, insome ern dancestage, theycreate fascinatingmutations. Itisatourownperilthatweavert oureyes function inmuchthesameway, andwhenthesecodedstrandsarewoventogetheronthe mod- so embeddedthattheyarelike ourbody’sdeepest, mostpowerfulcodes(2015). Fashioncan in it. not violatethe “church” ofGraham’smoderndance, touseDeMille’soddword;itparticipates amid Graham’sdenselylayeredaesthetic. Spectatorial identification withtheseelementsdoes billionaire’s wife? oine, incarnatingimpossibledoubleness:thetragicwidow ofarulerandtheblithelyjet-setting license, dance, andphysicalbeauty? Who wasJackieO, ifnotamodern-daymythologicalher dovetailed withthesubtextsofGraham’sballets. What wasStudio54ifnotanarenaoferotic His costumeswerenotonlyoftenverybeautiful;theyhadsocial meaningbeyondthestagethat put it, shewoveinanotherlayerofthemythicfashion unconscious (Graham[1959]1991:269). and mythifiedthe­ myth, andarguablythatofallwomen, inamongthoseoftheancients. Shephysicalizedmyth then daredtoreinsertitintoherretellingsoftheancientGreekcanon. Shelayeredherown her “human woman” selftoheronstagecreations;sheraisedthatmythicproportionsand condescension isstartlingandmisplaced. MarthaGrahamnotonlymadehercareerbyfusing should nothavetouchedhertheaterorstage, whichwasherchurch” (1991:414). DeMille’s terments wasfunforherasahumanwoman[...A]ndifsheenjoyedit, weloveherforit, butit DeMille addedoneothertellingremark: “Martha’s feelingforfineclothesandexpensiveaccou- Playwright CaridadSvichwrote thatGreekmythresides “in ourculturalDNA,” itsstories All ofthesereferencesswambeneathHalston’sstretchjersey and sequins, findingtheirplace physical. When sheinvitedHalstontoworkwithher, to “be herhands” ashe Clytemnestra, costumes by Halston, 1979. partnership withHalston, Agnes to us. the gleamofthingsthatbeckon ­fashion. We mightsay “glitz” is is aboutidentification, andsois ion, forself-adornment. Myth for beautyindressandfash- desire canincludethe at desireofalltypes. And that body, Grahamlookeddirectly of boththefemalemindand lay baretheinteriorlandscapes material culture. Inherquestto mythic landscapefromwomen’s should notdisentangleGraham’s 2012:111). set designsbyNoguchi(Franko too heavilyonplotandthe of “theatricalism,” ofrelying the 1950s, Grahamwasaccused ant, andtheatrical. As earlyas was alsolavishlysexual, flamboy- orous, severe, andcomplex, it while herchoreographywasrig- restrained. Onthecontrary, In hercritiqueofGraham’s What’s more, wecannotand — and - Fashion on Modernist Stages 145 , trans. Richard Howard, 41–50. 41–50. Howard, Richard trans. , Essays January):79–105. www.thecut.com/2016/09 April 2019. 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