In the right circles, an invitation to the ballet carries more prestige than a front-row seat at fashion week. VIP boxes and proximity to one of Europe’s oldest and most refined art forms make ballet a clear marker of cultural sophistication. For fashion brands aiming to project refinement, it’s an appealing space.
Luxury and fashion players have long been involved in this world. As early as the 1920s, Coco Chanel supported Serge Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes company and famously designed the costumes for Le Train Bleu, choreographed by Bronislava Nijinska and premiered in 1924. But recently, we’re seeing a ballet revival, as audiences seek out meaningful real-life experiences and brands try to align themselves with intellectual, hard-won pursuits.
When Timothée Chalamet said earlier this year that “no one cares” about ballet and opera, London’s Royal Ballet and Opera responded with a playful Instagram post—a tribute video to its dancers with the subtitle “We care.” According to CEO Alex Beard, it generated 2.5 million engagements and boosted ticket sales. In fact, Chalamet’s comment couldn’t be further from the truth. Ballet’s influence on popular culture and fashion is growing fast.
In June, Francesca Hayward, a principal dancer at the Royal Ballet and Opera (RBO), appeared on the cover of Practice, a style and sports magazine, wearing head-to-toe Burberry. Over the year, she has worked with Adanola and Aritzia; last year, she modeled for Giorgio Armani and appeared in Chanel’s Connect podcast series, among other brand partnerships. Elsewhere, ballet is having a pop culture moment. Olivia Rodrigo brought in New York City Ballet’s Tiler Peck to choreograph the music video for her recent single “Stupid Song,” while Rosalía trained with Belarusian prima ballerina Tatiana Yerakhavets for her Lux world tour, performing on pointe in a tiered tutu on stage.
Contemporary dance and movement also featured heavily in the Fall/Winter 2026 collections. Choreographer Damien Jalet put together a high-energy production for Willy Chavarria, and classically trained movement director Pat Boguslawski worked on both the Gucci and Junya Watanabe shows.
“As luxury brands move beyond product-focused marketing, dance and ballet are emerging as powerful platforms for brand communication,” says Fflur Roberts, head of luxury goods at Euromonitor International. “Performance embodies many of the values that define luxury—craftsmanship, precision, creativity, discipline, emotion, heritage—while offering brands a way to connect with audiences through immersive cultural experiences rather than traditional advertising.” As a result, fashion houses and luxury brands are increasingly partnering with dancers, choreographers, and cultural institutions, Roberts explains, to create emotionally resonant moments that build community and place them within a broader cultural landscape.
Rosalía performs at the Accor Arena in Paris in custom Ann Demeulemeester during her Lux tour.
Photo by Kevin Mazur, courtesy of Getty Images.
Given that many Gen Z consumers feel constantly sold to, faced with algorithm-driven AI-generated content, the importance of “meaning” over visual volume is growing for brands. Just as BookTok, intellectual influencers, and lecture series have carved out a niche for more cerebral, thought-heavy pursuits, so too are physical, niche, and institutionally respected art forms like ballet thriving.
But brand partnerships today need to feel earned, not just manufactured. Without symbolism and history—which ballet has in abundance—brands trying to communicate prestige struggle. Ballet isn’t a marketing shortcut; it’s a deliberate choice to slow down and engage with a refined taste that comes from restraint.
A newly engaged audience
Chanel has been a partner to Lincoln Center’s BAAND Together Dance Festival for six years, and hasSince 2023, Rolex has been a major patron of the Paris Opera. Notably, the brand also has an 18-year partnership with the Royal Ballet and Opera (RBO), where it currently holds the status of principal partner.
The appeal is clear. For example, the RBO welcomes around one million visitors to its Covent Garden venue each year, selling over 660,000 tickets per season, with 18% of audiences coming from abroad. The company also has more than seven million followers across social media, including a strong presence on Instagram (1.6 million) and TikTok (1.3 million). According to the RBO, there are over 540 million ballet fans worldwide.
“We’re seeing growing interest from younger audiences who engage with the art form through fashion, social media, and popular culture,” says Sophie Wybrew-Bond, the RBO’s chief commercial officer. “Our dancers are a big part of that momentum—they build highly engaged communities of their own and have become influential cultural figures.”
In 2025, half of all ticket buyers were new to the RBO, and 20% were under 30 across both ballet and opera. Francesca Hayward, who has 148,000 Instagram followers, runs a feed similar to a modern influencer, mixing travel posts and mirror selfies with appearances at high-profile events. Fellow principal ballerina Marianela Núñez (851,000 followers) shares fan engagement videos, rehearsal clips, and even casual photos of her pet cats.
Long-term patronage
“I reached out to Wayne McGregor some time ago, and I think the stars aligned for this particular ballet,” says Saul Nash, who designed the costumes for the choreographer’s show Alchemies.
Photo: Andrej Uspenski, courtesy of RBO.
While the immediate appeal of partnering with top cultural organizations is attractive, it can also show long-term or genuine commitment, notes Wybrew-Bond. Alongside working with Rolex, the theater has expanded the range of opportunities it offers brands, allowing them to integrate with the RBO brand in various ways.
A licensed ballet-inspired collection with Reiss and a festive partnership with Paul Smith—complete with a tree designed by Smith—were examples of this shift. The latter generated 361,000 views across three collaborative social posts and a combined press reach of 46.7 million, according to the RBO. Wybrew-Bond also highlights Burberry creative director Daniel Lee’s costume designs for choreographer Wayne McGregor’s production of Untitled at the Royal Ballet in 2023, as well as earlier RBO costume work by Roksanda and Gareth Pugh.
Saul Nash, who designed costumes for McGregor’s Alchemies at the RBO—shown from April to May this year—sees the crossover between disciplines as productive. “I think the ballet gave me a chance to present my work in a new cultural space and to audiences who might not have come across it before,” says Nash. “As a designer, I’m always interested in breaking down barriers, challenging perceptions, and exploring new ground for both fashion and movement.”
In this area, Chanel stands out as an example of the lasting relationships that can develop between fashion and dance. Take the brand’s gradual support of choreographer Blanca Li, which grew over decades. “I had the chance to meet Karl Lagerfeld, who asked me to be the dancing model for a photo shoot he did for the magazine Visionaire [issue 23] in 1997,” says Li. “That was our first meeting, but we also worked together a few more times, like for the Rose Ball [a high-society benefit in Monaco] in 2008.”
The relationship deepened when Li asked the brand to design virtual costumes for a virtual-reality production, Le Bal de Paris de Blanca Li, in 2018. “Not only did they agree to create these incredible costumes based on their couture collection, but they also supported the production,” says Li, who has been a “friend of the house” since then. The show won an award in 2021 for best VR experience at the Venice Film Festival.Venice International Film Festival. Chanel also supported Li’s more recent VR-IRL hybrid production, L’Ombre, which was shown at last year’s festival.
Brand alignment with compelling storytelling is powerful for brands, argues Sophie Wybrew-Bond, RBO’s chief commercial officer.
Photo: Camilla Greenwell, courtesy of RBO.
Cultural capital
According to Li, Chanel acts as a patron without expecting anything directly in return, noting that the house brings special guests like VICs and brand ambassadors to performances around the world. Indeed, ballet offers a promising way for brands to connect with clients. “As brands look for new ways to engage clients, ballet provides a distinctive platform,” says Wybrew-Bond. “Whether through exclusive performances, behind-the-scenes access, or opportunities to engage directly with artists, it offers authentic, experience-led connections that can deepen relationships with high-value clients.”
The RBO works with clients to create “memorable hospitality moments,” a spokesperson for the management of VIP and VIC experiences tells Vogue Business, highlighting the Royal Box, exclusive tours, and the hosting of bespoke functions.
It’s worth the effort. Ballet and dance provide access to an audience with high levels of influence, discernment, and spending power, confirms Bia Bezamat, cultural insights director at Kantar Consulting. With an air of ceremony and exclusivity integral to dance, it helps luxury players remain distinctive as the broader fashion industry becomes more accessible. “For the high-net-worth individual, accessing the arts through exclusive, often-niche events can give them entry into a cultural world that feels far more meaningful than being invited to a conventional brand event,” Bezamat adds.
Marketing in motion
One appeal for brands is more formalistic: dance — like the runway — is a way to present garments in motion, showcasing the functional and stylistic nuances of a collection. For brands such as Issey Miyake, where the value proposition lies in sculptural, performance-oriented design, choreography can be a smartly demonstrative marketing tool.
Both this summer and last, Issey Miyake womenswear designer Satoshi Kondo costumed Derniers Feux, a production by choreographer Némo Flouret. Previously, Flouret choreographed both Issey Miyake’s SS24 and FW25 women’s showcases with poetic dance-cum-catwalk presentations.
Derniers Feux, choreographed by Némo Flouret, was costumed by Issey Miyake womenswear designer Satoshi Kondo.
Photo: Simon Lerat, courtesy of GrandPalaisRmn.
“The creative work of the Issey Miyake women’s collection is founded upon the human body, so there I see a natural connection between our practice and dance,” says Kondo. “The ease and fluidity found in the clothing are kinetic: the garment transforms as the wearer, or the dancer in many cases, moves.”
Kondo notes that whenever he watches a dance performance in Japan or overseas, he stumbles across audience members wearing Issey Miyake brands, demonstrating the impact of the namesake founder’s close collaboration with dancers.
This blurring of disciplines aligns with luxury’s experiential turn toward immersive cultural spaces. “Dance transforms fashion and luxury from something consumers simply own or wear into something they can experience and feel, using movement, storytelling, and live performance to create deeper emotional connections and reinforce brand identity,” says Euromonitor’s Roberts. “This movement illustrates the expanding role of luxury, from creating exceptional products to curating exceptional moments.”
Frequently Asked Questions
Here is a list of FAQs about the fashion industrys obsession with ballet written in a natural and informative tone
General Beginner Questions
1 What does Fashion is placing its bets on ballet actually mean
It means that major fashion designers and brands are heavily featuring balletinspired clothing shoes and aesthetics in their recent collections Instead of just a passing trend they are treating ballet as a major source of inspiration for entire seasons hoping it will drive sales
2 What does balletinspired fashion look like
Think delicate and practical It includes wrap tops tutulike skirts leotards worn as bodysuits leg warmers and soft feminine colors like blush pink and ivory The most famous example is the ballet flat but it also includes ribbon laces that wrap up the calf
3 Why is the ballet aesthetic so popular right now
Its a reaction to recent fashion trends After years of quiet luxury and balletcore designers are merging the two Ballet offers a sense of grace nostalgia and softness that feels comforting Its also highly photogenic and translates well to social media
4 Is this just about shoes or are there other clothes involved
Its definitely more than shoes While ballet flats are the entry point the trend includes sheer tights leg warmers slip dresses corsets and even oversized knit sweaters worn over leotards Its a full wardrobe aesthetic that mixes athletic wear with high fashion
5 I dont dance Can I still wear balletinspired fashion
Absolutely The point of the trend is to borrow the aesthetic of ballet not to actually go to class You dont need to be flexible or a dancer to wear a wrap top or a pair of ballet flats Its just a style choice
Style Practicality Questions
6 Are ballet flats actually comfortable for walking all day
It depends on the brand The original cheap ballet slipper with no arch support can be painful However highend designers and modern brands are now making them with cushioned insoles and