Fleur du Mal Partners with Isabella Boylston on Balletcore Collection – WWD

Fleur du Mal, the lingerie and ready-to-wear firm, has teamed up with Isabella Boylston, principal dancer at the American Ballet Theatre, to create a ballet-inspired collection.

The Fleur du Mal x Isaella Boylston collection features a full range of bodysuits, ballet wrap skirts, washable silk angel-sleeve robes and handkerchief skirts.

“We are so thrilled to collaborate with Isabella Boylston on a true, ballet-core capsule collection. From the figure-enhancing seam lines of the bodysuits to the silk georgette wrap skirt trimmed in lace, I think we were able to realize Isabella’s inspiration beautifully in our Fleur de Mal aesthetic,” said Jennifer Zuccarini, founder and chief executive officer of Fleur du Mal.

Zuccarini said she met Boylston many years ago after she wore one of her lace bodysuits for “an incredible dance video” she made. “We met at our studio shortly after, and we would sometimes dress her for events. Isabella has great style and loves fashion so when she reached out to talk about collaborating, I was super excited,” she said. “There’s been a lot of brands taking inspiration from ballet and with the whole ballet-core trend, we thought it would be fun to collaborate and create something truly from a dancer’s perspective.”

“I am so excited to partner with Jennifer and the team at Fleur du Mal. I’ve known the brand for years and have been dressed by them for several occasions, and I think this was a perfect fit,” Boylston said.

The Fleur du Mal x Isabella Boylston collection is available at fleurdumal.com, at Fleur du Mal boutiques in New York and West Hollywood, Calif., as well as Fwrd, LuisaViaRoma, Matches, Revolve and Saks.

The collection launches Wednesday and prices range from $295 to $495. Sizes are meant to be inclusive, and run from extra small to large for the cupped bodysuits, ballet wrap skirts, handkerchief skirts and robe, and extra small to extra large for the long-sleeve jersey bodysuit.

Fabrics include silk georgette and silk satin trimmed with lace for the skirts and robe, and stretch Leavers lace and Italian recycled jersey for the bodysuits. Everything is made in Asia. The collection is for one season only.

Zuccarini noted that Boylston was very involved in the design of the collection. “We asked her to pull a lot of inspiration. She brought tons of references from classical ballet performances to her own work, as well as her personal style — what she wears during her downtime,” she said. “From there, we narrowed down to a few key styles, details, and sketched around those ideas, pulled colors based on her inspiration and met again to review the final styles. Once we had samples, we tried everything on Isabella and fit each piece with her feedback,” Zuccarini said.

Fleur de Mal, founded in 2012, has a boutique at 175 Mott Street in New York and at 519 North Almont Drive in West Hollywood.

Boyston, who has been a principal ballerina at ABT for nine years, has danced leading roles in works by choreographers such as Twyla Tharp and Justin Peck. She also performs internationally with companies such as the Marinsky Ballet, Royal Danish Ballet, Paris Opera Ballet and National Ballet of China.

Last June, Boylston forged a collaboration with Splits59, the Los Angeles-based activewear firm headed by Jonathan Schwartz, as reported. The first collection included classic pieces with a ballet-inspired twist, such as the Airweight jumpsuit, Airweight leggings, Airweight shorts, daisy T and Airweight bra with ruching.

Boylston’s second collection with Splits59 comes out Dec. 4, featuring 12 styles ranging from bodysuits and leggings to sweats and T shirts. The collection retails from $78 to $168 and is sold exclusively on splits59.com.