Crafting Beauty: A Custom Dress for The Raffaella Ballet’s Choreographer

Jul 17, 2024

I was thrilled to embark on a recent collaboration, and I feel the same excitement as I share details with you of the process and the result––one of the most exquisite dresses I have ever made, for an unforgettable night with a group of people who have an amazing story to tell the world!

If you haven't heard about The Raffaella Ballet, you will soon. The world premier was June 29 in South Bend, Indiana, and its captivating narrative, music, and dancing will hopefully be experienced by many more as the program spreads. My part was to provide the choreographer, Claire Kretzschmar, with a dress for the opening night. Every aspect of this event was inspired by Raffaella Stroik's life devoted to representing how Beauty will save the world (more on this below), and I felt driven to participate with the same exuberance and attention to detail. Time was limited, but I could not be more grateful for the happy ending!

When Claire and I met to discuss the dress, we immediately realized how similar our body measurements are, and that we struggle with the same issues when shopping RTW. So, when trying on different styles to develop a better idea of the direction of the design we immediately understood each other and what kind of dress would make Claire a true statement of beauty. One of the first dresses she put on was actually a maternity dress. It had a fluid structure and the off-white brocade with rose color print was stunning on her and reflected the imagery of the ballet. But no matter how wonderful the dress looked; it just wasn't the best match for Claire. This led us to our first creative conclusion: We needed to construct a completely new dress, simple but with this same kind of textile and colors.

We met our first obstacle. I was fairly certain I would not be able to acquire more of the fabric used for the dress we wanted to 're-imagine' from the maternity style. It would require contacting the manufacturer, but I knew miracles were happening throughout this ballet production and so I was hopeful we would not be disappointed. Although I was unsuccessful in sourcing more brocade rose print from the original dress inspiring us, I managed to find a stunning rose printed silk fabric with metallic embossing from Italy. It was a milky off-white with the desired rose print and gold metallic embossing.

After our first meeting I had taken all the measurements needed for Claire's custom body block. I could have used my body sloper for this initial mock-up, but I decided to make hers from scratch. (I made it a goal this year to do as much adult patterning as possible because I need to keep honing the basic skills that truly make one a proficient expert!) The body moulage is a very fitted sloper, and after the moulage is adjusted to a perfect fit the standard sloper is constructed for the bodice and sleeves. When Claire came in for a weekend fitting to test her body moulage and mock-up dress we were already off to a good start. Remember I told you how similar our shapes are? Nevertheless, Claire's dress needed a bigger dart for the back of her shoulders and lowered arm holes. (No body is the same as another and alterations work magic!) Seeing her in the mock-up allowed me to note the areas that needed to be tweaked for the pattern that would be used to cut the real dress materials.

Time was ticking! At this point we had only seven days before opening night. Claire and I were confident that an extra fitting before cutting the dress was unnecessary because I could use my own measurements for reference if I needed any information. When I received the fabric, I held it in my hands and envisioned the final points of the design. This was not a large length of fabric, so I could only cut a tea-length garment and strategically pattern other pieces on this. I had hoped to cut three-quarter-length sleeves that could be rolled up, but there simply wasn't enough to go around. Instead, the sleeves were cut right above the elbow and are designed to be rolled or scrunched up. The backside of the fabric is a heart-stopping gold metallic. The idea is that this brilliant detail will reveal itself when the sleeves are rolled up or the back slit opens.

Other changes were made to the design as we began construction with this particular textile and its features. Originally, the skirt was going to be more fitted and tapered inward, but I released it into a pleated design that was more open. The reason for this was to showcase more of the silk. Claire would have looked great in both styles, but the silk has such a soft and yet structured drape that a more fitted pattern would mostly hide. I likewise made it less fitted around the waist for the purpose of rendering this dress something that could be worn again and again over many years regardless of how the one who wears it ages. But with the pleats in the front and back it needed something to pull it all together better around the waist. Right before the final delivery, I whipped up a sash to 'belt' around her waist. (If I could go back in time, I think I might have made this gold. At that moment I just didn't have the time to linger on the decision and I quickly chose the floral side.)

I am simply overwhelmed with the outcome. Not only is the dress a marvel, but the meaning behind some of its features are quite moving. For example, the rose is a symbol par excellence of the link between beauty and perfection, and the fragrance of sanctity. Catholic saints are beautiful souls whose intercession in our lives through prayer is also often indicated with the rose. The subject of the ballet, Raffaella Maria Stroik, is exactly this. Her life was short here on earth, but she has already become a figure of someone very much involved in human affairs as she continues to bring to fruition what she always proclaimed: Beauty will save the world! She grew up down the street from me, and yet I seem to encounter her more now than I did when we were children. When I see roses, I always joyfully remember the saints and our common life in the spirit, and now Raffaella is among their ranks! The gold embossing reminds me of the Sacred Heart, the true theme of the month of June, and certain elements of the set design (designed by Raffaella's sister, Gabriella).

The ballet was a success. Inspired by the tradition of Tchiakovsky, Petipa, Balanchine, and Prokofiev, the performance set a new standard and expectation in the arts. If beauty is going to save the world, artists need to commit themselves more authentically to their respective crafts and elevate the experience to a place of transcendence that only Truth can create. The beauty of the clothes, music, and dance (and set design); the goodness of the story and its protagonist; and the truth conveyed in this art and its witnesses––this ballet is worthy of a long life on the stage!

For my part, I could not be happier with the result. Claire was wonderful to work with and brought her own beauty to the dress that no textile or construction can provide. My daughter really enjoyed having Claire in the studio and dancing with her in tutus! I am grateful for the opportunity to have played some small role in this moment, an event that is the fruit of the Stroik family's own enduring love for their lost ballerina, whose virtue and dance now belong to all of us. My daughter Anya and I will not soon forget this landmark day in South Bend, and are reminded that beauty and devotion are life-saving, and in the most normal of places and smallest of ways.