One Vintage Nightgown, 75 Beautiful Ballerinas
Let’s take a minute to talk about Gene Schiavone’s gorgeous photography, shall we? We want this guy’s life: He travels the world shooting talented dancers in both performance and studio settings. He’s especially good at capturing the essence of our favorite ballerinas. (In fact, he shot Keenan Kampa for her 2012 Dance Spirit cover!)
Schiavone recently posted on social media about his “pink Olga nightgown” project. Apparently, he found a beautiful vintage nightgown from the 1970s—designed by lingerie icon Olga Erteszek, which is where the “Olga” comes from—a few years back. Erteszek’s nightgowns, he explained on Facebook, are “unique in that they have a 120-inch sweep,” which looks especially wonderful in dance images. Since then, he’s photographed around 75 ballerinas wearing the gown. (It looks like each dancer who wears it signs the skirt, too—so cute.)
Anna Vescovi in the Olga nightgown—see the signatures?
Unsurprisingly, when you pair great movers with a dress that looks great in motion, you get great photos. Here are a few of our favorite “pink Olga nightgown” shots. (You can find more of them here.) So much prettiness!
(All photos by Gene Schiavone, of course)
Katherine Grones
Lauren Disher
