Sunday, March 13, 2011

DANCE ON AIR

My dearest friend Jorge posted a link to Kylie's wardrobe fitting on his Facebook wall.  He just flew back to Barcelona where he's been living for over five years and was lucky enough to score a ticket to her show.  The fitting features Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana trying out the different combinations of dresses, shoes and headpieces for Kylie's Aprhodite: Les Folies Tour.  The clothes look amazing of course, a lot of Grecian influence, and a lot of trademark Dolce & Gabbana details.


 What I liked about this link in particular was how it showed Kylie moving and practicing a few dance moves in the outfits to see if they would actually work onstage and on the road.  I must say I love Kylie, but she's not that much of a dancer really (though I was pleasantly surprised to see her move quite a lot when she came to Lima a couple of years ago), so I guess the clothes are pretty safe.  My friend Paloma once told me that there were a few wardrobe malfunctions when the same duo designed the clothes for Madonna's Girlie Show Tour, but of course, if she's dancing 99% of the time, they are BOUND to happen




Back when I was in design school, one of our first extracurricular projects was to co-design a wardrobe for a modern dance group from a local university.  Our head professor was in charge of the whole thing but we helped out and got to go to every show to make sure the dancers had the look we desired.  Unfortunately, not all of them had real "dancers' bodies", but we managed pretty well.  One of our main concerns was that they'd be able to move freely throughout the whole performance, and they did.  I remember we also styled their hair into twig-like shapes covered in gold spray paint.  Quite intoxicating.
So while I was pondering about the importance of wardrobe design in dance, I began thinking about that famous scene in Top Hat where Fred Astaire and Ginger Roger dance to Cheek To Cheek.




Any complaint regarding the excessive amount of marabou feathers used on her dress simply disappear once the couple begins to dance.  I don't really have mention the fact that they are both excellent dancers, but the use of feathers in her dress adds so much movement that it actually manages to enhance their talent.



 I love this song, I love Fred Astaire and this scene just makes me sigh.  Here it is, enjoy.


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