The name Varvara Karinska is now known to everyone who is at all interested in ballet or stage costumes. This Ukrainian artist from Kharkiv forever changed the way ballerinas look — she created the modern layered ballet tutu that is worn by leading theaters around the world.
Varvara Karinska was born in 1880 into a wealthy Kharkiv family. She received a good education, spoke several languages, and had a talent for art. After the revolution, she emigrated first to Europe and later to the USA, where she revealed her talent as a costume designer. In Paris, she worked with Sergei Diaghilev and his "Russian Ballet," and later with George Balanchine at the New York City Ballet. It was in this partnership that her most famous innovation — the new ballet tutu — was born.
костюм для постановки «Сон літньої ночі»
Before Karinska, ballet skirts were heavy, stiff, and often uncomfortable. She devised a way to make them light, layered, and made of tulle, with each layer attached separately. This allowed the ballerina to move more freely, and the costume to "flow" with her. Such a tutu became the standard in ballet and is still used today — it is even called “Karinska” (the "Karinska tutu").
Karinska also worked on costumes for Hollywood and Broadway, winning an Oscar for the costumes in the film “Joan of Arc” (1948) — a rare case where a ballet costume designer conquered the film industry as well. Her innovative approach combined technical excellence with artistic vision, and each costume was meticulously thought out.
кадр з фільму "Жанна Д'Арк", 1948
Today, the influence of Varvara Karinska can be felt in every major ballet theater in the world — from New York to Paris and London. Her name stands alongside Balanchine and Diaghilev as a symbol of elegance, technical innovation, and feminine genius in the arts.
