With tremendous versatility and an idiosyncratic style described as “equal parts Balanchine and voguing,” (The Wall Street Journal), Stephen Galloway has dominated the global arts scene as a dancer, designer, and creative movement director.
Over his career, Galloway has been a principal dancer at Ballet Frankfurt, consulted for fashion powerhouses (Gucci, Calvin Klein, and Yves Saint Laurent—to name a few), and coached models for the likes of Vogue and W Magazine. He designed award-winning costumes for companies worldwide including Kirov Ballet, American Ballet Theatre, Paris Opera Ballet, La Scala, and Ballet Frankfurt. He can also be credited as the man behind “moves like Jagger,” having served as Creative Movement Director for The Rolling Stones.
His masterful combination of talents will culminate at Boston Ballet a world premiere in spring 2022. Not only is Galloway choreographing, but he is also lending his abilities as the piece’s costume designer. Take a peek into the Costume Shop as he dreams up his fashion-forward, rock-inspired designs.
A Fashion-Forward Collaboration
Influenced by his background in haute couture, Galloway is taking a different approach to creating the costumes for his world premiere. “I really wanted to treat it as if we were building a fashion collection,” he says.
Typically, the Boston Ballet Costume Shop team receives complete, though not necessarily finalized, renderings from the costume designer. Galloway, however, involves the team early on in the artistic process. “I trust the fantastic Boston Ballet Costume Shop so much it really allows me to go outside my comfort zone in terms of what I want to present,” he explains.
Galloway first meets with the team to share his overall vision for the production. Together, they pore over rock-inspired images and create mood boards, which they use to test out new ideas and choose the overarching color palette. Following this, the Costume Shop team puts together a package, including dyed color swatches, meeting notes, and composite images. They also start to construct sample items and fabric treatments to present to Galloway. Once the designs are finalized, the team begins the usual process of sourcing materials, creating mock-ups, and building the final pieces, while continuing to have ongoing conversations with the choreographer.
“It was a much more back-and-forth process than we typically do,” explains Costume Crafts Person Erica Desautels. “However, many of us in the shop have fashion backgrounds, so it’s still familiar territory.”
This is not the first time Galloway has worked with Boston Ballet’s Costume Shop. He is the costume designer for several of William Forsythe’s ballets in Boston Ballet’s repertoire, including Pas/Parts 2018 and Vertiginous Thrill of Exactitude. However, this is the first time the Shop has worked with him on an original, new design.
“Stephen Galloway is an incredible force and presence in the Shop,” says Desautels. “He brings a playful, collaborative spirit and an energy that is very complementary to ours.”
