Fashion house creates new performance costumes for Paris Orchestra musicians

The Orchestre de Paris has asked French fashion designer Anne Willi to create performance costumes for the orchestra's female musicians. Each musician will have a choice of six outfits to suit their style, instrument, and body shape.

In most orchestras, the female musicians have their own costumes, while the male musicians do not.

In April 2022, the male musicians of the Orchestre de Paris had new outfits designed by Gauthier Borsarello of the men's ready-to-wear brand Fursac. Designed for performance wear, this new collection includes dinner jackets (wool and cotton), white shirts, and silk belts. The shirts are not tied with a bow tie, so as not to impede the breath of the player; they are fastened with cloth-covered buttons so as not to knock the body of the violin or viola. Sleeves are of a length appropriate to the musician's movements, and cufflinks are forbidden, as they may touch the casing of some instruments. The waistband is lined with elastic so as not to compress the breathing of the player of the instrument.

Today, the female musicians of the Orchestre de Paris will wear costumes designed especially for them by Anne Willi. Anne Willi said she was particularly interested in the project because she loves music. The French fashion designer said she was "very impressed and moved" by the performances of the female musicians of the Orchestre de Paris.

"When I thought of designing a stage costume for the musicians of the Orchestre de Paris, I immediately thought of designing a wardrobe for them, and I created ten different outfits for them, which honored their individuality while unifying them. The costumes include a jumpsuit, two trousers, a long diagonally cut skirt, a blazer and a kimono jacket, and four tops with different sleeve lengths. All garments are cut from black satin-backed crepe woven in Italy and dyed in France."

"Each musician was given six costumes to suit their style, instrument, and silhouette in order to create unity on stage while honoring each musician's individuality," explains Anne Willi.

For the first time ever, the musicians will be dressed in their new outfits for a concert at the Philharmonie de Paris on Wednesday, June 12, at 20:00 under the baton of Music Director Klaus Mäkelä. The program includes a new work by Miroslav Srnka, Mozart's Symphony No. 31, and Mendelssohn's Piano Concerto, performed by Lang Lang.

Graduated from the ESMOD International School of Fashion Design, Franco-Swiss couturier Anne Willi opened her first boutique under her own name in the 11th arrondissement of Paris in 1998, and a second boutique in 2010 in the Saint-Germain-des-Prés neighborhood. The designer, who also has a presence in the United States, Japan, and Switzerland, studied flute and sang soprano in an amateur choir.