Patron of the Paris Opera’s dance season Opening Gala since 2018, Major Patron of the Paris Opera since 2023, and Exceptional Patron of the Paris Opera’s Renovation since 2025, the House of CHANEL is delighted to support the Opening Gala of the Paris Opera’s 2026-2027 dance season.
A key moment in the dance season, this Opening Gala honours all of the company’s dancers, from the École de Danse’s students to the Étoiles (principal dancers), and the Junior Ballet, of which the House is Founding Patron. This year’s programme will feature Rings of Saturn, Juliano Nuñes’ first creation for the Paris Opera—for which costumes were created by CHANEL—, as well as the debut in the Opera’s repertoire of Jean-Christophe Maillot’s Vers un pays sage and of Aszure Barton’s Busk.
During this Gala, the Junior Ballet will perform for the second time since its creation in 2024. For this occasion, the dancers will wear tutus designed by CHANEL. The company brings together dancers aged 18 to 25, recruited through an audition process for a two-year term under a professional training contract. It embodies the values of passing on knowledge, inclusion, and making the arts accessible to as many people as possible – values shared by both the Paris National Opera and CHANEL.
By also providing the tutus and tiaras for the Étoiles during the Défilé du Ballet, CHANEL is continuing the approach of its founder: supporting creative freedom and promoting the avant-garde aesthetic and the exacting demands of a world-renowned discipline.
From very early on, Gabrielle Chanel forges links between the worlds of Fashion and Dance. In 1924, four years after meeting Sergei Diaghilev, she designs the costumes for the Le Train Bleu ballet. She then goes on to design costumes for George Balanchine’s Apollon Musagète in 1928 and Léonide Massine’s Bacchanale in 1939. Today, this relationship continues. In 2019, the costumes for the ballet Variations, choreographed by Serge Lifar, were revisited by CHANEL. The House also designed the costumes for the ballet Exposure, choreographed by Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui in 2020, as well as for Victor Gsovsky’s Grand Pas Classique in 2021.
In 2025, the House designed the thirteen stage costumes worn by the dancers in Red Carpet, choreographer Hofesh Schechter’s first creation for the Paris Opera Ballet. During previous editions of the dance season’s Opening Gala, Étoiles Amandine Albisson, Valentine Colasante and Hannah O’Neill were each dressed in stage costumes designed by CHANEL.
Through this support, the House is delighted to put its expertise at the service of the Paris Opera dancers.
