The ballet boy look can be stylish and practical (and not just as a fancy dress costume)

Revamp your summer wardrobe with a subtle ode to Nureyev and Baryshnikov – but forget the tutus

Rudolf Nureyev in 1969 (Rex)

Ballet boys are undeniably in for spring/summer 2015. In one of those odd occasions of catwalk coincidence, the dancers’ rehearsal uniform – multi-layered T-shirts, thin jersey, stretchy trousers, soft-soled shoes and a general feel of creasing, rumpling and post-workout scruff – was proposed simultaneously by a clutch of designers as a new masculine ideal. Dries Van Noten’s Paris show, with its ribbon-wrapped torsos, billowing silk trousers and fluttering robes looked to the newly defected Rudolf Nureyev in his 1960s portraits by Richard Avedon; in Milan, Tomas Maier dressed a buffed bevvy of Baryshnikov-alike Bottega Veneta models in rolled-up jersey trousers and scoop-necked t-shirts. Rick Owens chose to reference something more primeval, to Nijinsky’s ground-breaking L’après-midi d’un faune that scandalised Paris back in 1912. Owens’ interpretation? Beefed-out, hulking Adidas trainers and multi-layered tunics in washed leather and hyper-distressed leather.

Despite ostentatiously alighting on the same aesthetic root, that trifecta of designers showed a trio of dance-infused collections that appeared as different as they come. On the surface, at least. There was actually a distinct connecting thread – a certain practicality, an ease of movement in clothing, and a sense of the down-to-earth. That was quite literal, with balletic elasticated pumps in pliant leather or canvas as standard. Those have been worn for a while by a multitude of young men as alternatives to branded kicks – soft, breathable, perfect for summer.

Granted, some of the styling in these shows – straps criss-crossing around the ankles, skinny headbands and fluttering rhythmic gymnastic ribbons – may raise eyebrows away from the ballet barre (and even at it – who really rehearses dressed like they stepped out of Flashdance?). Nevertheless, they are rooted in clothes that the every man can – and do – wear everyday. That is, casual sportswear, tracksuit trousers and thin layers of cotton jersey and knits, with an athletic bent and a healthy dose of sex appeal.

That’s why this look warrants further discussion – because it can look stylish, practical and not like a fancy dress costume come summer. Honest.