British Vogue reports that Kinder Aggugini is teaming up with the English National Ballet to redesign the costumes for Kenneth MacMillan's The Rite of Spring, during the Beyond Ballets Russes season at the London Coliseum in March 2012.
Kinder is an intriguing character. An Italian Ex-punk, he studied at St. Martins during the 1980′s and worked on Savile row before moving to John Galliano (where he applied for the job dressed as a policeman). He also worked at Vivienne Westwood, Paul Smith, Calvin Klein, Costume National and as a head designer for Versace following the death of Gianni. He told Vogue,
I was thrilled to be given the opportunity to redesign MacMillan's ballet. The guidelines for ballet costumes are quite strict, so on top of an appearance one has to consider functionality and durability.”
After having created a one-off tutu for the English National Ballet's company's fundraising summer party in July last year, he was approached by the company's artistic director Wayne Eagling to meet MacMillan's widow to discuss The Rite of Spring redesign.
I guess it's a bit like designing a Batman outfit, but in this case there was also a clear vision from one of the most revered British choreographers who created possibly the most successful version of this Ballets Russes piece. This is what makes this project so special – it's not just a costume, it's the resurgence of an iconic work of art.”
via Vogue UK
Photo: design by Kinder Aggugini reproduced by Vogue
Graham Spicer is a writer, director and photographer in Milan, blogging (under the name ‘Gramilano') about dance, opera, music and photography for people “who are a bit like me and like some of the things I like”. He was a regular columnist for Opera Now magazine and wrote for the BBC until transferring to Italy.
His scribblings have appeared in various publications from Woman's Weekly to Gay Times, and he wrote the ‘Danza in Italia' column for Dancing Times magazine.
