Are Santa Claus, Snoopy, ‘The Nutcracker,’ and the Radio City Rockettes Fashionable?
Tempting as it is to reduce holiday fashion to anything red or green, there are remnants of high style in some classic Christmas attractions.
So much so that some of the throwback looks seem strikingly current and could easily be modeled on a designer runway. The pink ombré costumes that New York City Ballet dancers wear for the “Waltz of the Flowers” in “The Nutcracker” and the pale pink silk satin bodice and pale pink tutu worn by the Sugarplum Fairy in this year’s production would qualify. But the reality is the original designs for those costumes were created by Barbara Karinska 70 years ago for the premiere of the George Balanchine-choreographed ballet.
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“Balletcore” — ultra feminine fabrics, soft pastels and the irrepressible ballet flats — went viral in January. But pink tutus have been seen off the stage for years. Sarah Jessica Parker, a longtime NYCB supporter, wore a tulle ballet skirt for one of HBO’s better-known “Sex and the City” ad campaigns. And more recently Maya Gerskine turned up at the Academy Museum gala in an extra delicate pink ombré gown last October.
So the question is, “Are holiday classics influencing fashion or vice versa?” Some might say neither. But consider the oversized red puffer that “Snoopy” sports in a Peanuts light-up musical scene that shoppers can purchase at CVS. Is the world’s most famous beagle keeping up with Balenciaga, Moncler and Loewe?
Maybe all of the above, or maybe it’s a wink at the tremendous red Norma Kamali sleeping bag coat that the late Andre Leon Talley wore on occasion and for an Ugg advertisement.
Rihanna later paid homage to Talley in an all-red Alaïa ensemble for her halftime performance at the 2023 Super Bowl.
New York City Ballet’s director of costumes Marc Happel hints of current fashion can be found in the striking simple silk satin bodice and layers of tulle tutu that the Sugarplum Fairy wears, as well as the bodices worn by dancer in the “Waltz of the Flowers.”
Acknowledging how the costumes have stood the test of time, Happel said, “When you have a great designer like Barbara Karinska, who creates these silhouettes that are so striking, and in some ways modern for the time, you’ll see designers going back to that time and time again and borrowing from those silhouettes.”
He added, “We do have fashion houses or clothing companies that will come in to ask to look at specific costumes because they’re considering using them for inspiration.” But Happel did not identify any brands or designers.
While the NYCB’s wardrobe department keeps the costumes looking as new and fresh as possible, they also flag when a certain set of costumes — whether that be for any of the Flowers, the Marzipan or any other cast members’ attire — needs to be spruced up. The Dew Drop costume is a personal favorite of Happel’s. “That was very much ahead of its time. It’s just a single simple layer of stretch. In a way, it’s somewhat scandalous, but I don’t think anyone really knows that from the audience,” he said.
A similar pastel green cropped up on a few recent runways, including Chloé’s spring one.
The Christmas Spectacular is another highly styled New York City holiday tradition, with ticket holders having to jostle through the crush of shoppers and tourists in and around Rockefeller Center to get to Radio City Music Hall.
The audiences stream in and out for multiple performances of the “Christmas Spectacular” each day. While the 90-minute show has more visual special effects than it had decades ago, the costumes and the choreography for the “Parade of the Wooden Soldiers” are virtually unchanged since the number debuted in 1933. The dancers’ white suspender pants and red gold-buttoned jackets were designed by the theater and film director Vincente Minnelli, whose multitalented daughter Liza often donned pants for her all-out performances.
Red gold-buttoned jackets have stood the test of time for holiday gifting, as Margot Robbie makes clear in a cropped red Chanel jacket in Chanel No. 5’s fragrance campaign. And other stylish women have been spotted on the streets wearing their own updated takes on that holiday classic, including Emilie Joseph, who was photographed in Paris in June.
And some might wonder about the similarities between the dancing bear with oversized pink eyelids in the Rockettes’ “Nutcracker” sequence, and the cartoonish pastel eyelids that Kaia Gerber was photographed wearing in the Marc Jacobs-curated shoot for the December issue of Vogue.
Harried last-minute shoppers headed for FAO Schwarz might want to do a double-take at the entrance of the New York City flagship, where greeters are decked out in uniforms that were updated by Gigi Hadid in 2018. But they still sport what is known as “FAO red.”
One could say Santa Claus has been getting more attention than usual from consumers lately, too, thanks in part to Target’s commercials with a fictitious employee “Kris K.” With a salt and pepper beard that looks more Brooklyn than the North Pole, the model Brent Bailey is suited up in a tight quarter-zip red ribbed sweater and khakis. (His sleigh, so to speak, is a shiny red Bronco.) Combined, those ingredients might seem more L.L. Bean circa 1981 than Target 2024, but social media lapped up the chain’s campaign that included taglines like “He’s Hot, But These Turkey Deals Are Hotter.”
The nontraditional character was a major hit on TikTok. There were nearly 60 million views of #TargetSanta on TikTok between the Nov. 17 launch and Dec. 6, according to a Target spokesperson.
As for L.L. Bean, the company has an organic cotton zip-neck waffle sweater on its e-commerce site that is similar to the one worn by “Kris. K.”
Another Kris Kringle-inspired character that has attracted a loyal following is “Fashion Santa.” The Gen X-er behind the beard, Paul Mason, is still a working runway model (who helped close Jean Paul Gaultier’s final show). Explaining how his mother died of cancer years ago, he said, “In my grief, I stopped shaving. I was like f+*k it. She was my best friend.”
His white beard sparked the idea to pitch a few retailers with the character. “All I wanted to do was to open the door at a Saks Fifth Avenue or Bergdorf Goodman and say, ‘Merry Christmas,'” he said.
But all of Fashion Santa’s appearances are charity-driven with 20-plus scheduled for this last quarter. This season Mason’s look is “more avant-garde than the dandy Santa” that he started with years ago. All of his suits, whether they be velvets or Harris tweeds, are custom. Fashion Santa is into the monochromatic as of late — a red tie-front blouson blouse, pleated pants and a roomy red overcoat that have been designed by Ross Mayer, who designs for RuPaul. Mason said of his holiday calling, “I just saw a niche for a more elegant Santa for different products, brands and partnerships. I’m not trying to push on anyone to try to dress better. It’s changing like fashion does.”
Holiday movies are also changing beyond the Hallmark-esque big-city-girl-returns-to-her-hometown-and-finds-love-and-happiness ones. Netflix “Hot Frosty” has racked up its share of viewers and social media posts. The movie’s male lead Dustin Milligan first appears in a mechanic’s jumpsuit, a style that was appropriated decades ago by the American designer Anne Fogarty, who borrowed from the uniform for a housedress in her own collection after being inspired by a gas station attendant. Fast forward to today, when K8 Hardy and Jenna Lyons posed wearing Hardy’s workwear-inspired house dresses for Lyons’ photographer wife Cass Bird.
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