Divertimento

Music Divertimento No. 15 in B-flat major, K.287 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

Choreography by George Balanchine (1956)

This jacket was likely worn throughout the 50’s, 60’s, and 70’s. The tunic is made of blue silk with butter yellow trim with an inset woven nylon horsehair orientation.

These colors are a nod to the imperial architecture of St Petersburg, Russia. The subtlety of treatment of the teardrop rhinestones seems like a way to express understated opulence by way of shrouding them all in the undulating trim with woven horsehair netting.

She troubles herself to design them into the costume and them further troubles herself to set them back with the netting. This touch feels like an insight into the level of intention with which she approached these garments.