Designers Create Swimwear Line Based on Justin Peck Costumes
Have you ever walked out of a show wishing you could take the costumes home with you? Thanks to Reid & Harriet Design, the label behind many of New York City Ballet and American Ballet Theatre’s most imaginative contemporary costumes, this dream is becoming a reality. Founders Reid Bartelme and Harriet Jung have designed a line of ready-to-wear swimwear from the watercolor-like striped fabric they created for Justin Peck’s 2016 Scherzo Fantastique. This design duo is responsible for costuming 10 of Peck’s ballets over the past few years, and was featured in the 2015 Peck documentary, Ballet 422.
Their current swimwear line comes to us just in time for summer, and features two styles: “The Bella” and “The Harriet,” both modeled for their website by ABT star Isabella Boylston (“The Bella,” anyone?).
The suits seem to be in a unisex design – their Instagram features their frequent collaborator ABT principal James Whiteside in “The Bella” alongside Gillian Murphy in “The Harriet.” Murphy’s wearing her pointe shoes, which we hope means that this design can double as a leotard.
The price tag is quite steep, with the suits available for pre-order at $248 each. Bartelme and Jung attribute the price to the high manufacturing cost of running a small label. While Bartelme told Racked that neither he nor Jung is “particularly keen on entering the world of fashion,” we’re hoping that this isn’t the end of their foray into designing everyday clothing, and we look forward to seeing a lot more from this creative and ballet-loving team both on and off the stage.
