The Royal Ballet has a new clothing and accessory collection that “combines high-quality materials with great attention to detail, resulting in luxurious yet practical items for everyday use”.
Designed with sustainability in mind, the items are sourced, made and printed in Britain.
The photos of the collection are by Royal Ballet's dancer William Bracewell and modelled by Royal Ballet company members Joseph Sissens, Mariko Sasaki, Giacomo Rovero and Francisco Serrano.
William Bracewell, First Soloist of The Royal Ballet, said:
I really like how much effort has been put in to making this whole collection both look great and feel lovely. One of my favourites is the hoodie in dusty dark pink, one size up is perfect for a comfy loose fit!
The clothing is created with organic cotton that is 100% GOTS certified, Peta Approved Vegan, FairWear, Global Organic Textile Standard – guaranteeing that the cotton was grown without genetically modified seeds or harmful chemicals. It is fully sustainable and produced with respect for people and the planet. The collection is unisex, available in XXS to XXL.
Prices start at £15, and each piece is “lightweight, stylish, easy to maintain and perfect for any Royal Ballet fan”.
The collection includes T-shirts, hoodies, joggers, beanie hats, as well as children's T-shirts and hoodies. The T-shirts, hoodies and beanie hats are available in a range of colours, including the newly introduced Khaki and Hibiscus Rose. A tote bag and a reusable, collapsible bottle are also available.
Mariko Sasaki, First Artist of The Royal Ballet, said:
I am in love with this new Royal Ballet hoodie, which has beautiful variations of colours and is super comfortable and warm and soft. Perfect for both relaxing and warming up your body!
The full athleisure wear collection is available now in the Royal Opera House Covent Garden shop and online at shop.roh.org.uk:
• Unisex t-shirts, available in hibiscus rose, lavender and khaki. RRP £20
• Unisex hoodies, available in hibiscus rose, khaki and black. RRP £55
• Unisex joggers, available in black. RRP £50
• Unisex beanie hats, available in hibiscus rose, lavender and black. RRP £20
• Women's t-shirts, available in hibiscus rose, heather pink, lavender and black. RRP £20
• Unisex children's t-shirts, available in hibiscus rose, heather pink and khaki. RRP £15
• Unisex children's hoodies, available in hibiscus rose and khaki. RRP £40
The collection can be seen at roh.org.uk/collections/new-royal-ballet-unisex-range
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.
Great idea for the Royal Ballet to be doing a merchandise campaign! I am liking the soft muted colors but my sense if that bolder colors like black and white and many other stronger combos would work just as well. Also in the Royal Ballet photos for the ad campaign, there is an obvious male gay bias. That is, you are using images of likely gay men and no images of straight males by themselves or with females. You don’t seem to understand that many straight males like myself are also interested in dance and your focusing primarily on gay folks is more than a little limiting. The male, gay look of the photos is more than a little obvious and frankly off putting for non-gays. I am left feeling left out. And why not a subtle pink with a bright blue or intense yellow. Your primarily gay outreach approach is off-putting and something of a turn-off.
Should gay men then feel put off because of a straight ‘bias’ in ads? And as you are talking obvious stereotypes here, then wouldn’t subtle pink be ideal for the gay boys. And as for bright blue or intense yellow, what about vivid green or intense violet? Sorry you’re feeling left out. Aww.
What a load of rubbish! What, pray, does this have to do with dance as an art form? The Royal Opera House shop used to be a bastion of civilisation – nowadays it’s a load of over-priced tat. Whoever runs it should be ashamed of themselves.