The Grasshopper's Gala
The Official Costume party
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Fancy dress costume- Paul Poiret. 1911
The Met says:
Early in the twentieth century Diaghilev’s Russian dance company, Ballets Russes, performed in Paris—reigniting the taste for orientalism in Europe with its exotic sets and costumes. As this ensemble illustrates, Poiret excelled in recontextualizing western dress with fantastical eastern influence. He was also a maverick modernist in creating a stir, taking promotion of his inventive ensembles to new levels with his infamous spectaculars. This fancy-dress ensemble was made for and worn to Poiret’s 1002nd Night party in 1911, which was designed and organized to promote his new creations in the full splendor and glamour of the orientalist trend
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19th Century Theatre Costume.
The V&A says:
Clown costumes of the 19th are rare and this printed and embroidered costume is a particularly fine example. Charlie Keith (1836-1895) was a distinguished clown who ran his own touring circus. An advertisement for Charlie Keith’s Circus in The Southport Critic, 15 June 1878, features an engraving of him wearing a similar costume.
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Film negative from The Ballet Theatre Company, New York. 1945. Met Museum.
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