One of 2023’s biggest aesthetic trends was ballet core, and it’s going nowhere fast, carrying over into 2024 and continuing to influence the year’s stylistic trends. With one click of the #balletcore tag on social media, you can scroll through thousands of photos offering inspiration on how to nail the trend.
Social media mentions aside, ballet-inspired pieces have also ruled the runways, taking over mood boards of luxury favorites like Miu Miu, Jacquemus, Sandy Liang, and more.
Ballet itself dates back to the Italian Renaissance courts of the 15th century, reserved for the upper echelons of society. Fast forward to the 19th century, and ballet greatly evolved during the Romantic Movement in the first half of the 19th century. Those romantic influences from early classic ballets, such as The Sleeping Beauty and Swan Lake, are largely present in today’s ballet-inspired fashion.
Ballet Meets High Fashion
Designers began to take influences from the stage and bring them to the streets in the late 1930s and early 40s, with clothing such as leotards and tights emerging in fashion. In the 1970s, the influence of ballet on fashion resurged during the disco era, and the trend was further explored.
Since then, the influence of ballet has been seen throughout modern fashion, from designers like Dior and Givenchy to Moschino and Valentino. Following the trend cycle, those high-fashion luxury influences also trickle down to contemporary and mass-market brands, making the trend more accessible to all.
Tap Into Your Inner Ballerina
While balletcore has infiltrated RTW, shoes, and accessories, no other handbag screams the girly, feminine, dance-inspired aesthetic like the Coachtopia Ergo bow bag. Part of Coach’s sustainably-focused collective, production of the Ergo prioritizes recycled materials and scraps. Its shape is inspired by an iconic ’90s shape from the Coach archive, designed for grabbing and going in style with a sustainable spin.
The Ergo was first introduced when Coachtopia debuted back in the Spring, and has become the staple silhouette for the sub-brand, reinigorated in new prints, colors and details each season. Versions of the Ergo consistenly sell out, with each drop, but today, one of the Ergo’s most-wanted styles is back and it’s making us want to dance our little hearts out.
Fitted with girly bows, the Ergo Bow Bag is the epitome of balletcore, wrapped up, litearlly, in the form of a handbag. Its first drop quickly sold out, but the ballet-inspired Ergo Bow bag just restocked; hurry because it’s almost gone!
