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"    Sarah Jessica Parker and Valentino Garavani at Valentino for New York City Ballet; Photo: Getty Images   Last night, 16 original Valentino designs\u2014by the house&amp;#039;s founding designer Valentino Garavani\u2014made their onstage debut for the New York City Ballet&amp;#039;s fall gala, with supporters like Iman, Anne Hathaway, Diane von Furstenberg, and Daphne Guinness all on hand. The collaboration came about at the suggestion of Sarah Jessica Parker, who holds a place on the ballet company&amp;#039;s board. &amp;quot;This was my idea, many, many, many, many months ago,&amp;quot; Parker told ELLE.com on the event&amp;#039;s red carpet. &amp;quot;We went to Valentino and asked, and he was kind enough to agree. He&amp;#039;s been flying here for the past few months, going and sitting across the street at our atelier and building these costumes by hand.&amp;quot;   Valentino, who retired from his fashion house in 2008, said he was thrilled with the idea. &amp;quot;I was very, very up to it. I came to New York five times during five months. Yesterday before rehearsal, I was there to touch everything and to make everything perfect.&amp;quot; Among his creations: a floor-length, ruffled Valentino Red chiffon gown with bright pink lining for a piece set to Duke Ellington; a tutu with a harlequin pattern in layered shades of red, pink, and purple for a Fred Astaire-soundtracked number; and voluminous, couture-worthy black-and-white tulle, tea-length dresses that hid vibrant pink or red layers underneath for a ballet appropriately called &amp;quot;Bal de Couture.&amp;quot; The couturier explained that this project required him to think differently about his designs. &amp;quot;You have to be very careful, they are not dresses to go around in the street,&amp;quot; he told ELLE.com. &amp;quot;[The dancers] have to move, they have to bend, they have to jump, they have to do lots of things.&amp;quot; He himself took two years of ballet classes at 19. &amp;quot;I love to dance,&amp;quot; he said. Parker recalled taking a twirl with the designer &amp;quot;at a gala many years ago. We waltzed. He&amp;#039;s excellent. He&amp;#039;s, not surprisingly, light as a feather on his feet. Perfect dance partner.&amp;quot; Giancarlo Giammetti, Valentino&amp;#039;s longtime partner, begged to differ on the designer&amp;#039;s dancing abilities. &amp;quot;He likes to dance, but he&amp;#039;s not a great dancer. He knows three dances: bossa nova, samba, and ballet.&amp;quot;  Karolina Kurkova couldn&amp;#039;t recall seeing Valentino dance, but shared another memory of the designer: &amp;quot;[His pugs] were always at the fittings. They always had to approve the looks. You know, if they made a lot of noise, that was a good sign.&amp;quot; Tory Burch, meanwhile, disclosed her own dancing history: &amp;quot;I took dancing lessons until I was about 12. I made it to toe shoes but that was that. Then it was over.&amp;quot; Valentino, who also created costumes for the Vienna Ballet in 2009, said he already has his next potential collaborator in mind: &amp;quot;Maybe one day I&amp;#039;m going to do the costumes for the Mariinsky [Ballet] in Russia.&amp;quot; Parker, too, has ideas about the New York City Ballet&amp;#039;s 2013 fall gala partner. &amp;quot;Next year, it will be three American designers that are part of New York Fashion Week,&amp;quot; she hinted.  Model Karolina Kurkova at Valentino for New York City Ballet; Photo: Sophie Elgort "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.elle.com/fashion/news/a22165/valentino-costumes-at-new-york-city-ballet-fall-2012-gala-interviews-with-sarah-jessica-parker-tory-burch/?click=smart&kw=ist&src=smart&mag=ELM&link=-SMT-ELM>