Members of the Moore community, Philadelphia Ballet, and beyond gathered at The Galleries at Moore on Friday, January 26 to enjoy a special performance for the opening of the exhibition Reimagining a Holiday Classic: Costume Designs Inspired by The Nutcracker®.
For the second year of this exciting collaboration, 11 students in their junior year of Moore’s Fashion Design program worked directly with Philadelphia Ballet to create costumes inspired by four Nutcracker characters: Coffee, Tea, Hot Chocolate, and Candy Cane. Students took their designs from concept to costume under the advisement of Moore faculty Morgan Porter, as well as Philadelphia Ballet staff Sarah Cooper, creative director of community education and public programs, and Jennifer Tierney, wardrobe manager.
The evening opened with remarks from Moore’s Chief Academic Officer and Dean Claudine Thomas, who worked with Philadelphia Ballet staff to launch the second year of the collaborative project in October 2023, and visited students as they worked throughout the fall 2023 semester. She highlighted the unique skills students gained through the partnership.
“In that moment, I thought to myself, ‘This is what transformative experience looks like.’ It’s hard work, it’s being open to ideas, it’s learning how to work with different material and different people, and it’s fun,” Thomas said.
Moore President Cathy Young echoed Thomas’ sentiments, calling the undertaking a “one-of-a-kind learning experience for students in Moore’s Fashion Design program.” As a former dancer and choreographer, Young also touched on her personal knowledge of costume design.
“I think we all know, especially the ballet aficionados in the room, that costume design is incredibly challenging,” she said. “The costumes have to move while on the bodies, they have to be lit well, they have to feel good to the dancers—there’s a lot of things that go into great costume design.”
Attendees also heard from Porter and Jourdan Cooper, general manager of curriculum and community education for Philadelphia Ballet, who shared insight into the students’ design process. The students submitted design proposals, which consisted of mood boards, renderings and an audio file, which were shared with Philadelphia Ballet. Once the final designs were chosen, students split into teams to construct four garments, which “brought another layer of collaboration into this project.”
“The experience gained through this collaboration with Philadelphia Ballet is invaluable and offered real-world experience to students here at Moore,” Porter said.
Morgan Cure ’25, whose design was selected for the character of Tea, took the audience through the specifics of her work, thanking her professors, Moore, and Philadelphia Ballet for the experience.
“There was definitely a lot of trial and error throughout the process. It may have been unpleasant in the moment, but helped evolve my skills as a designer exponentially,” Cure said. “Not only did I learn how to fit and size a garment on a real body, I realized I am capable of creating unforgettable costumes that are made to last.”
Cure and the rest of the Fashion Design junior class got to see their designs come to life as dancers from the Philadelphia Ballet II company performed numbers inspired by The Nutcracker®. Each dance, choreographed by Eddy Tovar, director of Philadelphia Ballet II company, showcased the difficult work and attention to detail put into each costume.
In closing, Young brought all of the Fashion Design students onto the stage with the dancers for a round of applause.
“To see this partnership—the level of talent that you all have, as designers, as dance artists, the collaboration and what you created out of it, is just extraordinary,” she said.
Want to learn more about Fashion Design at Moore? Contact our Admissions team at enroll@moore.edu or 215.965.4015 to set up a call or a campus visit. We’d love to tell you more!
Photos by Claudia Rubio '24.
