Karl Lagerfeld’s tutus divide critics

Chanel's creative director Karl Lagerfeld has divided the critics with his costume designs for the English National Ballet's tribute season to the legendary French ballet company the Ballets Russes. While the haute couture tutus wowed the fashion crowd, his creations did not convince the ballet critics.
 
Lagerfeld's designs for the ENB's principal dancers, revealed at Sadler's Wells last night, mark the Ballets Russes' centenary and acknowledge Chanel's long-time contribution to dance. Sergei Diaghilev, founder of the ballet company, frequently commissioned beautiful and extraordinary costumes from Paris's top designers, including Coco Chanel. She created the original costumes for George Balanchine's 1929 Apollo, one of several pieces performed last night, and had an affair with its composer, Igor Stravinsky.
 
Lagerfeld was not at Sadler's Wells to see his creations worn on stage by principal dancers Elena Glurdjidze, Daria Klimentova, Erina Takahashi and husband-and-wife team Thomas Edur and Agnes Oaks. But a host of celebrities were, including Chanel muse Amanda Harlech, designer Jasmine Guinness, model Laura Bailey and actor Stephen Fry.

Shoe designer Beatrice Ong called Glurdjidze's dress - in which she performed the Dying Swan - "so beautiful". She added: "The feathers [were] placed just so, so that they fluttered so wonderfully with the dancer's movements. The elongated neck depicted the bird perfectly with such elegance."
 
The dance critics saw it differently. For the Daily Telegraph, Sarah Crompton criticised the "awful outfit that put Elena Glurdjidze's Dying Swan in a feathered neck brace, which did nothing to aid her performance of Anna Pavlova's favourite party piece".
 
The Guardian's Judith Mackrell called Glurdjidze's tutu "the one fake note" of the opening night. It was , she said, "conceived with cavalier disregard for the ballerina's working body - the line of the neck broken by an egregious, fluffy ruff, the waistline broken by a too-high skirt."
 
Last month Elena Glurdjidze gave Lagerfeld a personal performance of the Dying Swan after her fitting at his salon in Paris. The German-born designer was said to be thrilled about the performance, which he filmed. He may not be so thrilled by today’s reviews. ·