SPECIAL FEATURE. FLAMENCO WARDROBE DESIGN
The art of fabric in motion
Silvia Calado/ Flamenco-world.com, August 2011
Translation: Joseph Kopec
Cover design © Yaiza Pinillos
Even New York’s Guggenheim Museum has made it clear. The wardrobe of flamenco dancing is much more than clothing. Picasso, Dalí and Néstor took the isms of pictorial art to the costumes of the leading Spanish dance figures in the early 20th century. The high-fashion designers also redefined the short costume and the one with ruffles: from Armani to Galiano, with Montesinos and Alvarado in between. But tailors and dressmakers, specialized but anonymous, are the ones who have most made their ideas materialize in fabric as well as those of the artists themselves. And there are even bailaores who design and make their own costumes. Now, young wardrobe designers like Yaiza Pinillos are investigating new possibilities in the cuts and fabrics in search of beauty, motion, contemporaneity and the expression sought by today’s bailaores.
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Néstor's design for 'Fandango del candil' (Museonestor.com) |
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The spiral which Frank Lloyd Wright created to house the treasures of the Guggenheim Foundation in New York found itself full of motion one day. ‘Dressed to Dance’, set in Flamenco Festival New York 2010, was a choreographed exhibit in which bailaoras like María Pagés and Rocío Molina donned historic dresses of flamenco dancing and Spanish dance. In total, seventy pieces were exhibited, some of which were created by Picasso or Dalí. In the first years of the 20th century, interdisciplinary connections weren’t unusual. Both painters created not just dresses, but also curtains. Just like Néstor who, between modernism and symbolism, created costumes and stage design for Manuel de Falla’s ‘El amor brujo’, premiered by Pastora Imperio at the Teatro Lara in Madrid in 1915; and for the ballet ‘Triana’ by Albéniz, premiered in 1929 at the Opéra-Comique in Paris by the company of Antonia Mercé ‘La Argentina’.
With the 20th century behind us and the 21st century under way, post-modern artists will no longer be the ones designing costumes for flamenco dancing, but rather renowned haute-couture designers. Armani dressed Joaquín Cortés in his climb towards worldwide success. Later on, it was Jean Paul Gaultier who designed the wardrobe of his show ‘Mi soledad’. Sara Baras relied on Sybilla to attire her version of ‘Carmen’. Eva Yerbabuena had Francis Montesinos in ‘La voz del silencio’. In ‘Puro’, Farruquito wears costumes by Victorio & Lucchino. The spectacular white suede bata de cola was by Loewe which cantaora Estrella Morente donned to pay tribute to La Niña de los Peines at La Alhambra’s Patio de los Aljibes in the 2004 Granada Music and Dance Festival. And all of the costumes of the ambitious show ‘Flamenco Hoy de Carlos Saura’ are by Antonio Alvarado. The fashion designer, on accepting this challenge, took into account “the functionality of the wardrobe, for it not to hinder movement and for it to make for a pretty photo”. And as in his collections, he made “references to elements of traditional costume”.
Joaquín Cortés dressed by Gaultier on 'Mi soledad' / Sara Baras dressed by Sybilla on 'Carmen' / Antonio Alvarado's design for 'Flamenco Hoy de Carlos Saura' |
Although the results of these collaborations have been spectacular, the creators of the wardrobe worn by most flamenco bailaores and bailaoras are more anonymous than renowned. In their specialized workshops, tailors and dressmakers keep the secrets of the most suitable classical cuts for the steps and movements of bulerías, alegrías and seguiriyas. There is one garment in particular which is mastered by very few: the bata de cola. One of them is Lina and hers have been worn by artists from Matilde Coral to Merche Esmeralda, with Joaquín Cortés in between… yes, she cut that iconic bata. Another star of the needle is Justo Salao, who has dressed bailaoras such as Manuela Carrasco and Cristina Hoyos, and has made the wardrobe of entire ballets. His latest work seen on stages is that of ‘Tranquilo alboroto’ by Rubén Olmo. Traditional male attire, consisting of high-waist trousers and a short jacket, also has its mystery. And among those who keep it is the Madrilenian tailor González.
Jesús Ruiz's wardrobe for '¡Viva Jerez!'
(Photo Vivajerez.net) |
Costume designers specializing in the performing arts play a more and more relevant role. There are those who are renowned, like Yvonne Blake, a costume designer, winner of an Oscar in 1971, who has created for the Compañía Andaluza de Danza, for the Ballet Nacional de España and for companies like Rafael Amargo’s. Córdoba-born Jesús Ruiz, besides carrying out numerous jobs for operas and musicals, has conceived the wardrobe of flamenco shows like ‘El loco’ by the Ballet Nacional de España, ‘¡Viva Jerez!’ and ‘Perspectivas’ by Mercedes Ruiz.
Sevilla's project sketches, by María Pagés |
The one who captured the originality which María Pagés wanted to give to the wardrobe of her show ‘Sevilla’ was Christian Olivares, who created the stage design as well. “Here the wardrobe started to mark the esthetics from the beginning. It’s all hand-made, all hand-dyed and each design is different”, the bailaora and choreographer explains. And she stresses the duality of certain designs: “In ‘Banderillas’ the costume was half-bull, half-bullfighter. And starting with that design, we talked about what the choreography was going to be like. Separately, craftsmen like María Calderón have worked on dyeing, appliqués, embroidering and patterns, which has been wonderful. Up close, each costume is a gem”.
Yaiza Pinillos' design for 'Rosa, metal, ceniza' by Olga Pericet
Yaiza Pinillos' design for Belén Maya
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The creativity amidst the youngest creators is bursting out. And one example of it is the work by Yaiza Pinillos for shows like ‘Bailes alegres para personas tristes’ by Belén Maya, ‘Complot’ by Chanta la mui and ‘Tauro’ by Manuel Liñán. The designer from the Canary Islands, who took part in the ‘Dressed to Dance’ exhibit at the Guggenheim Museum in New York, came to flamenco dancing by the hand of Olga Pericet, something which “has allowed me a level of plastic expression and creative freedom that sometimes isn’t accepted in theater”. And she had to learn its peculiarities: “The first question you have to face when designing for dancing are the materials. The fabric has to dance, has to accompany the dancer so that the wardrobe intensifies his or her expression and movement”. And she elaborates that “the creation of a beautiful image starting with the wardrobe is an obligation and I really enjoy seeing how the artists feel beautified, confident and strong to deliver all their art”.
One of the things she stresses, of course, is the bata de cola. She affirms that to her, it’s “the utmost object of my plastic creation. A bata de cola is a canvas whose complicated structure of ruffles, seams, pleats and fabrics upon fabrics offer me the chance to create optical miracles. I’ve specialized in the creation of effects on fabrics. I do research on the possibilities of the cloths, how to make a specific silk look like metal after having put it through some chemical processes”. To be precise, she has recently been at the prestigious Saint Martins School in London taking courses on the research of effects on fabric. And she has already applied them in ‘Rosa. Metal. Ceniza’ by Olga Pericet, premiered at Festival de Jerez 2011, as she recounts graphically in her blog.
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Concha Jareño with bata de cola by Concha Jareño (Photo Daniel Muñoz)
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These professionals are joined by bailaores and bailaoras who are so sure of how to dress their dances that they do their own designs. Rafael Estévez and Nani Paños sketch the costumes for their shows, as they did in ‘Flamenco XXI’ and ‘Sonata’. Since their work really bears in mind the research of the roots of Spanish dances, they try “in style and form, for it to be as true as possible to the era or subject matter that we’re using”. They do so with a vision which is “stylized, but we’ve also made exact reproductions” of designs that they find by researching, in photos and old books. They also like combining different eras, “mixing on the same stage a male dancer wearing a t-shirt and a female dancer in a tutu”, they explain.
And there are even those who make their costumes from their designs. That’s the case of Jerez-born Inmaculada Ortega, who even sews on assignment for colleagues. And it’s also that of Concha Jareño, a nearly self-taught self-wardrobe designer brought up amidst the fabrics of her mother’s store. Most of the wardrobe of her ‘Algo’ is created and sewn by her, including the bata de cola. The Madrilenian bailaora considers the process very interesting: “The end result has nothing to do with what I first intended. I cut something and then it starts to transform. Now I’m working on a costume and where it’s going is the great unknown”. So everything in her dancing is very personal: from the movement to the ruffles.
