Charlie Le Mindu's First Foray Into Ballet Costume Design Breaks All Convention 

Charlie le Mindu wears multiple hats -Monte-Carlo's 2017 edition of Rite of Spring, in a performance titled Massâcre. The show ran from July 19 - 22, 2017 at the Salle Garnier Opéra de Monte-Carlo in Monaco. The world-renowned Les Ballets de Monte-Carlo is the official national company of the Principality of Monaco and has been established for more than three decades.

Prior to entering the ballet costume design scene, the French-born, Los Angeles-based Charlie le Mindu has been transforming the art world with his offbeat design aesthetic, innovative installations, and pioneering use of human hair, among other nontraditional materials. Influenced by vaudeville and surrealism, he began his career as a young hairdresser, refining his skills in salons and nightclubs and learning how to fashion wigs into wearable works of art. Eventually, he developed the unique brand of "haute coiffure".

Le Mindu's designs for Massâcre brought the performance's collision of violence and poetry to life. Inspired by Fellini characters, le Mindu played with the eyes of the audience by producing a psychedelic experience with his expert use of hair and fabrics to enhance the movement of the dancers. Le Mindu's designs move seamlessly with the dancers' bodies in a fluid synergy, fundamentally connected, resulting in a penetrating and dream-like visual journey.

Massâcre was choreographed by award-winning Jeroen Verbruggen of Belgium, who had been following le Mindu's work for years on social media before personally selecting him to design the costumes. For the performance's powerful score, Verbruggen chose Igor Stravinsky's Rite of Spring, about a pagan ritual in which a sacrificial virgin dances herself to death. Verbruggen's piece, complete with a modern and jazz-influenced musical interpretation, explored human nature as he focused on triggering the story's feelings of violence, passion, and desire.

According to Verbruggen, "I have been following Charlie for some time now, and his name kept coming up as someone to collaborate with. I've never contacted someone I admired that much before and I was sure he would never reply, but four hours later, we were chatting over Skype. From the start, things went really smoothly. I can't think of a more pleasant creative endeavor than this one. It's rare that one encounters such a strong and easy collaborative match, and we are both impatient to work together again!"

Charlie le Mindu's transgressive work has been showcased in Paris Haute Couture Fashion Week, the Palais de Tokyo, the Victoria and Albert Museum and most recently in the performance piece Charliewood at Art Basel Miami Beach. With a celebrity fan base that includes the likes of Lady Gaga, Debbie Harry, and Sia, his work is an amalgam of art ranging from fashion to performance to installation. By always challenging cultural, moral, and artistic boundaries, le Mindu has established a signature aesthetic.

Charlie le Mindu is exclusively represented by Barrett Barrera Projects in the USA, for all commercial and artistic projects.

About Barrett Barrera Projects
Barrett Barrera Projects is a multidisciplinary consulting company specializing in arts, culture and contemporary fashion. Barrett Barrera Projects' artistic representation services are designed to position artists working in new and emerging media in the established art market with the goal to raise global awareness and promote sales.

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