The Nureyev Style

The Museum of Costume was honoured to work with the Rudolf Nureyev Foundation to display a selection of ballet costumes, personal clothes and textiles which belonged to the world-famous ballet star Rudolf Nureyev. This collection was not on display at any other venue in Great Britain.

The display gave visitors a chance to explore Nureyev’s love of textiles, rich colour and decorative effects and to see how his ballet costumes, his personal clothes and the textiles he collected played a part in creating his own particular, and iconic, style.

A highlight of the display, pictured here, was a blue silk and silver lace tunic worn by Rudolf Nureyev when he danced the role of the Prince Siegfried in the Vienna State Opera Ballet production of Swan Lake, originally choreographed by him in 1964.

There were also two stunning costumes from Nureyev’s own production of Romeo and Juliet, first mounted in 1977 by the London Festival Ballet.

The Museum was particularly pleased to be able to include a fawn tunic worn by Nureyev as Prince Albrecht in Act 1 of Giselle at Covent Garden. This was the first role in which he partnered the English prima ballerina, Margot Fonteyn. Dame Margot was a great supporter of the Museum of Costume and donated a number of her personal clothes to the Museum in the 1960s.

Rudolf Nureyev set the world on fire with his dancing, but he also had great personal charisma and style off the stage.

From the peaked caps of the 1960s to the throws, shawls and rich textiles of his later years, fashion played a role in creating Nureyev’s memorable image. This is reflected in the feature devoted to the many and varied hats he wore, and collected, throughout his life.

The display also included Oriental robes, shawls and outer garments, including Nureyev’s long coat by Missoni.

Image: a blue jewelled and embroidered ballet costume on display in front of a photograph of Rudolf Nureyev wearing the costume on stage